AT  LAST 


MARION  •  HARLAND 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIFT  OF 

Mrs.  George  Papashvily 


THE  SELECT  NOVELS 

OF 

MARION  HARLAND 


ALONE.  MY  LITTLE  LOVE. 

HIDDEN  PATH.  PHEMIE'S  TEMPTATION. 

MOSS  SIDE.  THE  EMPTY  HEART. 

NEMESIS.  FROM  MY  YOUTH  UP. 

MIRIAM.  HELEN  GARDNER, 

SUNNY  BANK.  HUSBANDS  AND  HOMES. 

RUBY'S  HUSBAND.  JESSAMINE. 

AT  LAST.  TRUE  AS  STEEL. 

"  The  Novels  of  Marion  Harland  are  of  surpassing  ex 
cellence.    By  intrinsic  power  of  character-draw 
ing  and  descriptive  facility,  they  hold 
the  reader's  attention  with  the 
most    intense   interest 
and  fascination." 

POPULAR    EDITION 

doth  Bound,  Price  50  cts.  each,  and  sent  FKEB  by  mail, 
on  receipt  of  price. 

G.  W.  Dillingham  Co.,  Publishers 
NEW  YORK 


AT  LAST. 


BY 

MARION  HARLAND, 

AUTHOR  OF 

'ALONE,"  "HIDDEN   PATH,"  "NEMESIS,"  "Moss  SIDE/'  "  MIRIAM, 
14  EMPTY  TJ HART,"  "  HKLKN  GARDNER,"  "  SUNNVBANK,"  "  HUSBANDS 

-NU  HOMBS,"  "  RUBV'S   HUSBAND,"   "  PHfiMlE's   TEMPTATION," 

ETC..  ETC. 


NEW    YORK: 
G.    W.  DiUingham   Co..  Publishers. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1870,  by 

M.  VIRGINIA  TERHUNE 
JL-  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington  D.  C 


Copyright  1898,  by  M.  VIRGINIA  TERHUMK. 


GIFT 


CONTENTS. 


OHAPTKB  IL 

OF  OOKFTDKHCRfi  . 


OHAPTKE  HZ. 
UHWHOUWOMB  V 


OHAPTIB  rr. 

<(  FOTOTOBD  UFOH  A  BOCK  " 


GHAPTm  T. 

OLXAH 


CHAPTER  TL 
OKATT  —  O*  PmxniACT?    ..• 

OHAPTBE  YH. 


V 


lit 


OHAFTHB  YIZL 
PACK  AX  nai  Wmww       ....«•     140 

CHAPTER  DL 
HB  DKFABTJTH  or  DAJUDTBM     . 


033 


VQNTKNT& 
X. 


CHAPTER  XL 
Ei  us  RMBOPMB        .....•«,     104 


CHAPTER  ZZL 

AUBT  ItAffgwr.  WJCDH  UVGEABrrUOiB          .         •         .          .        81t 


OHAPTS& 
JUIiTUf  IdUUWJL     •••••••«,       887 

CHAPTER  HT. 

ffil 


CHAPTER  IV, 

QOOD  &AMABKAM  ....*..       178 

CHAPTER  XVL 
THB  Honor  Houm  Ml 


CHAPTER  XTIL 
TBAM       ... 


CHAPTER  JLVLLL 
nr  TKB  An        .       •      •      •      •      • 

CHAPTER  XQL 


AT    LAST. 


OHAPTEB   I. 

HKWIJC8S  BOSKS. 

KB.  RACHEL  BUTTON  was  a  born  match 
maker,  and  she  had  cultivated  the  gift  by  di J- 
gent  practice.  As  the  sight  of  a  tendrilled  vine 
suggests  the  need  and  fitness  of  a  trellis,  and  a 
rtray  glove  invariably  brings  to  mind  the  thought  of 
its  absent  fellow,  so  every  disengaged  spinster  of  mar 
riageable  age  was  an  appeal  —  pathetic  and  sure  —  to 
the  dear  woman's  helpful  sympathy,  and  her  whole 
soul  went  out  in  compassion  over  such  "  nice  "  and  on 
appropriated  bachelors  as  crossed  her  orbit,  like  blind 
and  dizzy  comets. 

Her  propensity,  and  her  Conscientious  indulgence  of 
the  same,  were  proverbial  among  her  acquaintances, 
but  no  one  —  not  even  prudish  and  fearsome  maideni 
of  altogether  uncertain  age,  and  prudent  mammas, 


&9WLX88  JSO8JS& 

alive  to  expediency  and  decorum  —-  had  eve* 
labelled  her  "  Dangerous,"  while  with  young  people  she 
was  a  universal  favorite.  Although,  with  an  eye  single 
to  her  hobby,  she  regarded  a  man  as  an  uninteresting 
molecule  of  animated  nature,  unless  circumstances  war 
ranted  her  in  recognizing  in  him  the  possible  lover  of 
»ome  waiting  fair  one,  and  it  was  notorious  that  she 
reprobated  as  worse  than  useless  —  positively  demoral 
iring,  in  fact — such  friendships  between  young  persona 
of  opposite  sexes  as  held  out  no  earnest  of  prospective 
betrothal,  she  was  confidante-general  to  half  the  girls 
in  the  county,  and  a  standing  advisory  committee  of  one 
upon  all  points  relative  to  their  associations  with  the 
beaux  of  the  region.  The  latter,  on  their  side,  paid 
their  court  to  the  worthy  and  influential  widow  as  punc 
tiliously,  if  not  so  heartily,  as  did  their  gentle  friends. 
Not  that  the  task  was  disagreeable.  At  fifty  years  of 
age,  Mrs.  Button  was  plump  and  comely ;  her  fair  curia 
unf aded,  and  still  full  and  glossy ;  her  blue  eyes  capa 
ble  of  languishing  into  moist  appreciation  of  a  wofui 
heart-history,  or  sparkling  rapturously  at  the  news  of  a 
triumphant  wooing ;  her  little  fat  hands  were  swift  and 
graceful,  and  her  complexion  so  infantine  in  its  clear 
white  and  pink  a»  to  lead  many  to  believe  and  some  — 
I  need  not  say  of  which  gender  —  to  practise  clandes 
tinely  upon  the  story  that  she  had  bathed  her  face  in 
warm  milk,  night  and  morning,  for  forty  years  Th« 
fiore  sagacious  averred,  however,  that  the  secret  of  hei 


DXWLX8S  MOOM& 

continued  youth  lay  in  her  kindly,  unwitnered 
m  her  loving  thoughtfulness  for  others*  weal,  and  her 
avoidance,  upon  philosophical  and  religious  grenade,  of 
whatever  approximated  the  discontented  retrospection 
which  goes  with  the  multitude  by  the  name  of  self- 
examination. 

Our  bonnie  widow  had  her  foibles  and  vanities,  bnt 
the  first  were  amiable,  the  latter  superficial  and  harm 
less,  usually  rather  pleasant  than  objectionable.  She 
was  very  proud,  for  instance,  of  her  success  in  the  pro 
fession  she  had  taken  up,  and  which  she  pursued  con 
amore;  very  jealous  for  the  reputation  for  connubial 
felicity  of  those  she  had  aided  to  couple  in  the  leash 
matrimonial,  and  more  uncharitable  toward  malicious 
meddlers  or  thoughtless  triflers  with  the  course  of  true 
love ;  more  implacable  to  match-breakers  than  to  the 
most  atrocious  phases  of  schism,  heresy,  and  sedition  in 
church  or  state,  against  which  she  had,  from  her  child 
hood,  been  taught  to  pray.  The  remotest  allusion  to  a 
divorce  case  threw  her  into  a  cold  perspiration,  and 
apologies  for  such  legal  severance  of  the  hallowed 
bond  were  commented  upon  as  rank  and  noxious  blas 
phemy,  to  which  no  Christian  s>r  virtuous  woman 
thould  lend  her  ear  for  an  instant  If  she  had  ever 
entertained  "  opinions "  hinting  at  the  allegorical  na 
ture  of  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  Fall,  her  theory 
would  unquestionably  have  been  that  Satan's  insidious 
whisper  to  the  First  Mother  prated  of  the  beauties  of 


10  DSWLS88  ROSES. 

feminine  individuality,  and  enlarged  upon  the  feaffibil 
;ty  of  an  elopement  from  Adam  and  a  separate  main 
tenance  upon  the  knowledge-giving,  forbidden  fruit 
Upon  second  marriages  —  supposing  the  otherwise 
indissoluble  tie  to  have  been  cut-  by  Death  —  she  wai 
a  trifle  less  severe,  but  it  was  generally  understood  that 
she  had  grave  doubts  as  to  their  propriety  —  unless  ir 
exceptional  cases. 

"When  there  is  a  family  of  motherless  children,  and 
the  father  is  himself  young,  it  seems  hard  to  require 
him  to  live  alone  for  the  rest  of  his  life,"  she  would 
allow  candidly.  "  Not  that  I  pretend  to  say  that  a  con 
nection  formed  through  prudential  motives  is  a  real 
marriage  in  the  sight  of  Heaven.  Only  that  there  is 
no  human  law  against  it.  And  the  odds  are  as  eight 
to  ten  that  an  efficient  hired  housekeeper  would  render 
his  home  more  comfortable,  and  his  children  happier 
than  would  a  stepmother.  As  for  a  woman  marrying 
twice" — her  gentle  tone  and  eyes  growing  stern! r 
decisive — "it  is  difficult  for  one  to  tolerate  the  idea. 
That  is,  if  she  really  loved  her  first  husband.  If  not, 
the  may  plead  this  as  some  excuse  for  making  the  ven 
ture  —  •  poor  thing  1  But  whether,  even  then,  she  has 
the  moral  right  to  lessen  some  good  girl's  chances 
f  getting  a  husband  by  taking  two  for  herself,  has 
ever  been  and  must  remain  a  mooted  question  in  my 
mind." 
Pier  conduct  in  this  respect  was  thoroughly  oonaiifc 


DEWLE8B  BOBS8.  11 

cnt  with  her  avowed  principles.  She  was  (mi  tidily 
when  her  husdand  died,  after  living  happily  with  hei 
for  ten  years.  Her  only  child  had  preceded  him  to  the 
grare  four  years  before,  and  the  attractive  Delict  of 
Frederic  Button,  comfortably  jointured  and  without 
incumbrance  of  near  relatives,  would  have  become  a 
toast  with  gay  bachelors  and  enterprising  widowers, 
but  for  the  quiet  propriety  of  her  demeanor,  and  the 
steadiness  with  which  she  insisted  —  for  the  most  part, 
tacitly — upon  her  right  to  be  considered  a  married 
woman  still. 

"  Once  Frederic's  wife  —  always  his ! "  was  the  sole 
burden  of  her  answer  to  a  proposal  of  marriage  re 
ceived  when  she  was  forty-five,  and  the  discomfited 
suitor  filed  it  in  his  memory  alongside  of  Caesar's  hack 
neyed  war  dispatch. 

She  had  laid  off  crape  and  bombazine  at  the  close  of 
4Jie  first  lustrum  of  her  widowhood  as  inconvenient  and 
unwholesome  wear,  but  never  assumed  colored  apparel 
On  the  morning  on  which  our  story  opens,  she  took  her 
seat  at  the  breakfast-table  in  her  nephew's  house — of 
which  she  was  matron  and  supervisor-in-chief  —  clad  in 
*  white  cambric  wrapper,  belted  with  black ;  her  collar 
fastened  with  a  mourning-pin  of  Frederic's  hair,  and  a 
lace  cap,  trimmed  with  black  ribbon,  set  above  her  lux 
uriant  tresses.  She  looked  fresh  and  bright  as  the 
early  September  iay,  with  her  sunny  face  and  in  her 
daintily-neat  attire,  as  she  arranged  ?ups  and  saneen 


ii  DfWLMBS  MO&M& 

for  seven  people  upon  the  waiter  before  her,  instructing 
the  butler,  at  the  same  time,  to  ring  the  bell  again  foi 
those  she  was  to  serve.  She  was  very  busy  and  happj 
at  that  date.  The  neighborhood  was  gay,  after  ta« 
open-hearted,  open-handed  style  of  hospitality  that  dis 
tinguished  the  brave  old  days  of  Virginia  plantation- 
life.  A  merry  troup  of  maidens  and  cavaliers  visited 
by  invitation  one  homestead  after  another,  crowding 
bedrooms  beyond  the  capacity  of  any  chambers  of 
equal  size  to  be  found  in  the  land,  excepting  in  a 
country  house  in  the  Old  Dominion;  surrounding 
bountiful  tables  with  smiling  visages  and  restless 
tongues ;  dancing,  walking,  driving,  and  singing  away 
the  long,  warm  days,  that  seemed  all  too  short  to  the 
fcoberest  and  plainest  of  the  company ;  which  sped  by 
tike  dream-hours  to  most  of  the  number. 

Winston  Aylett,  owner  and  tenant  of  the  ancient 
mansion  of  Ridgeley — the  great  house  of  a  neighbor 
hood  where  small  houses  and  men  of  narrow  means 
were  infrequent  —  had  gone  North  about  the  first  of 
June,  upon  a  tour  of  indefinite  length,  but  which  was 
certainly  to  include  Newport,  the  lakes,  and  Niagara, 
and  wag  still  absent,  tiia  aunt,  Mrs.  Button,  and  hii 
only  sister,  Mabel,  did  the  honors  of  his  home  in  hii 
stead,  and,  if  the  truth  must  be  admitted,  more  accept 
ably  to  their  guests  than  he  had  ever  succeeded  in  do 
ing.  For  a  week  past,  the  house  had  been  tolerably 
well  filled  -  -  ditto  Mr*.  Button's  hauda ;  ditto  her  great 


LSWLMB8  J30SMA  1* 


warm  heart.  Had  she  not  three  iove  affaire,  in 
ent  but  encouraging  stages  of  progression,  under  hei 
roof  and  her  patronage  ¥  And  were  not  all  three,  to 
ter  apprehension,  matches  worthy  of  Heaven's  making, 
tnd  her  co-operation  ?  A  devout  Episcopalian,  she  wai 
vet  an  unquestioning  believer  in  predestination  and 
"special  Providences"  —  and  what  but  Providence  had 
brought  together  the  dear  creatures  now  basking  in  the 
benignant  beam  of  her  smile,  sailing  smoothly  toward 
the  haven  of  Wedlock  before  the  prospering  breezes  of 
Circumstance  (of  her  manufacture)? 

While  putting  sugar  and  cream  into  the  cups  in 
tended  for  the  happy  pairs,  she  reviewed  the  situation 
i  apidly  in  her  mind,  and  sketched  the  day's  manoeu 
vres. 

First,  there  was  the  case  of  Tom  Barksdale  and  Imo- 
gene  Tabb  —  highly  satisfactory  and  creditable  to  all  the 
parties  concerned  in  it,  but  not  romantic.  Tom,  a  sturdy 
young  planter,  who  had  studied  law  while  at  the  Uni 
versity,  but  never  practised  it,  being  already  provided 
for  by  his  opulent  father,  had  visited  his  relatives,  the 
Tabbs,  in  August,  and  straightway  fallen  in  love  with 
the  cue  «iiigle  daughter  of  his  second  cousin  —  a  pretty, 
tmiahle  girl,  who  would  inherit  a  neat  fortune  at  her 
f<arent's  death,  and  whose  pedigree  became  identica1 
with  that  of  the  Earksdales  a  couple  of  generation! 
back,  and  was  therefore  unimpeachable.  The  friendi 
on  both  sides  were  enchanted  ;  the  lovers  fully  par- 


*  i  DEWLS88  SOSS& 

r.a.ded  that  they  were  made  for  one  ancther>  an  opia- 
ion  cordially  endorsed  by  Mrs.  Button,  and  they  could 
coirfer  with  no  higher  authority. 

Next  came  Alfred  Branch  and  Kosa  Tazewell  —  in 
cipient,  but  promising  at  this  juncture,  inasmuch  af 
Rosa  had  lately  smiled  more  encouragingly  upon  hei 
timid  wooer  than  she  had  deigned  to  do  before  thej 
were  domesticated  at  Ridgeley.  Mrs.  Sutton  did  no1 
approve  of  unmaidenly  forwardness.  The  woman  whc 
would  unsought  be  won,  would  have  fared  ill  in  hei 
esteem.  Her  lectures  upon  the  beauties  and  advan 
tages  of  a  modest,  yet  alluring  reserve,  were  cut  up 
into  familiar  and  much-prized  quotations  among  hei 
disciples,  and  were  acted  upon  the  more  willingly  foi 
the  prestige  that  surrounded  her  exploits  as  high 
priestess  of  Hymen.  But  Rosa  had  been  too  coy  to 
Alfred's  evident  devotion  —  almost  repellent  at  sea 
sons.  Had  these  rebuffs  not  alternated  with  attacks  of 
remorse,  during  which  the  exceeding  gentleness  of  hex 
demeanor  gradually  pried  the  crushed  hopes  of  her 
adorer  out  of  the  slough,  and  cleansed  their  drooping 
plumes  of  mud,  the  courtship  would  have  fallen 
through,  ere  Mrs.  Sutton  could  bring  her  skill  to  bear 
upon  it.  Guided,  and  yet  soothed  by  her  velvet  rein, 
Rosa  really  seemed  to  become  more  steady.  She  wai 
assuredly  more  thoughtful,  and  there  was  no  better 
iign  of  Cupid's  advance  upon  the  outworks  of  a  girFi 
heart  than  reverie.  If  her  fits  of  musing  were  a  shade 


DSWLSSS  BQ8X&  14 

too  pensive,  the  experienced  eye  of  the  observer  de 
scried  no  cause  for  discouragement  in  this  feature, 
R-Dea  was  a  spoiled,  wayward  child,  freakish  and  ™fa 
chievous,  to  whom  liberty  was  too  dear  to  be  resigned 
without  a  sigh.  By  and  by,  she  would  wear  her 
shackles  as  ornaments,  like  all  other  sensible  and  lov 
ing  "vomen. 

Thus  preaching  to  Alfred,  when  he  confided  to  her 
the  fluctuations  of  rapture  and  despair  that  were  his 
lot  in  his  intercourse  with  the  sometimes  radiant  and 
inviting,  sometimes  forbidding  sprite,  whose  wings  he 
would  fain  bind  with  his  embrace,  and  thus  reassuring 
herself,  when  perplexed  by  a  flash  of  Rosa's  native  per- 
verseness,  Mrs.  Button  was  sanguine  that  all  would 
come  right  in  the  end.  What  was  to  be  would  be,  and 
despite  the  rapids  in  their  wooing,  Alfred  would  find 
in  Rosa  a  faithful,  affectionate  little  wife,  while  she 
could  never  hope  to  secure  a  better,  more  indulgent, 
and,  in  most  respects,  more  eligible,  partner  than  the 
A /Letts'  well-to-do,  well-looking  neighbor. 

But  the  couple  who  occupied  the  central  foreground 
of  our  match-maker's  thoughts  were  her  niece,  Mabel 
Aylett,  and  her  own  departed  husband's  namesake, 
Frederic  Chilton.  She  dilated  to  herself  and  to  Mabel 
with  especial  gusto  upon  the  "  wonderful  leadirg,"  the 
mward  whisper  that  had  prompted  her  to  propose 
a  trip  to  the  Rockbridge  Alum  Springs  early  in  July. 
Neither  she  nor  Mabel  was  ailing  in  the  slightest  de 


16  &MWLX88  M08K 

gree,  but  ahe  imagined  they  would  be  the  brighter  fot 
a  glimpse  of  the  mountains  and  the  livelier  scenes  of 
that  pleasant  Spa — and  whom  should  they  meet  there 
but  the  son  of  "dear  Frederic's"  old  friend,  Mr.  Chil- 
<on?  and  of  course  they  saw  a  great  deal  of  him —  and 
the  rest  followed  as  Providence  meant  it  should. 

"  The  rest "  expressed  laconically  the  essence  ol 
numberless  walks  by  moonlight  and  starlight ;  in 
numerable  dances  in  the  great  ball-room,  and  the 
sweeter,  more  interesting  confabulations  that  made 
the  young  people  better  acquainted  in  four  weeks  than 
would  six  years  of  conventional  calls  and  small-talk. 
They  stayed  the  month  out,  although  "Aunt  Eachel " 
had,  upon  their  arrival,  named  a  fortnight  as  the  ex 
treme  limit  of  their  sojourn.  Frederic  Chilton  was 
their  escort  to  Eastern  Virginia,  and  remained  a  week 
at  Eidgeley  —  perhaps  to  recover  from  the  fatigue  of 
the  journey.  So  soon  as  he  returned  to  Philadelphia, 
in  which  place  he  had  lately  opened  a  law-office,  he 
wrote  to  Mabel,  declaring  his  affection  for  her,  and  su 
ing  for  reciprocation.  She  granted  him  a  gracious  re 
ply,  and  sanctioned  by  fond,  sympathetic  Aunt  Rachel, 
in  the  absence  of  Mabel's  brother  and  guardian,  the 
correspondence  was  kept  up  Driskly  until  Frederic5! 
second  visit  in  September.  Ungenerous  gossips,  en 
vious  of  her  talents  and  influence,  had  occasionally 
sneered  at  Mrs.  Sutton's  appropriation  of  the  credit  of 
other  alliances  —  but  this  one  was  her  handiwork  be- 


JDMWLSaS  JSOAS&  17 

yond  dispute  —  hers  and  Providence's.  SLe  never  for* 
got  the  partnership.  She  had  carried  Ler  head  more 
erect,  and  there  was  a  brighter  sparkle  in  her  blue  orbi 
since  the  evening  Mabel  had  come  blnshingly  to  her 
room,  Fred's  proposal  in  her  hand  —  to  ask  counsel 
and  congratulations.  Everybody  saw  through  the  dis 
creet  veil  with  which  she  flattered  herself  she  con 
cealed  her  exultation  when  others  than  the  affianced 
twain  were  by  —  and  while  nobody  was  so  unkind  aa 
to  expose  the  thinness  of  the  pretence,  she  was  given 
to  understand  in  many  and  gratifying  ways  that  her 
masterpiece  was  considered,  in  the  Aylett  circle,  a 
suitable  crown  to  the  achievements  that  had  preceded 
It.  Mabel  was  popular  and  beloved,  and  her  betrothed, 
in  appearance  and  manner,  in  breeding  and  intelli 
gence,  justified  Mrs.  Button's  pride  in  her  niece's 
choice. 

The  old  lady  colored  up,  witli  the  quick,  vi/id  rose* 
dnt  of  sudden  and  real  pleasure  that  rarely  outlive* 
early  girlhood,  when  the  first  respondent  to  the  break 
fast-bell  proved  to  be  her  Frederic's  god-son. 

"  You  are  always  punctual !  I  wish  you  would 
teach  the  good  habit  to  some  other  people,"  she  said, 
after  answering  his  cordial  "  good-morn:ng." 

"  None  of  us  deserve  to  be  praised  on  that  score,  to 
day,"  rejoined  he,  looking  at  his  watch.  "  I  did  not 
twake  until  the  dreising-bell  rang.  Our  riding-party 
was  out  late  last  night  The  extreme  beauty  of  tht 


18  DBWLX88  S08JS& 

evening  beguiled  TIB  into  going  further  than  we  im 
tended,  when  we  set  out." 

"  Yes !  you  young  folks  are  falling  into  shockingly 
irregular  habits  —  take  unprecedented  liberties  with 
me  and  with  Time ! "  shaking  her  head.  "  If  Winston 
do  not  return  soon,  you  will  set  my  mild  rule  entirely 
at  defiance." 

Chilton  laughed  —  but  was  serious  the  next  instant 
"  1  expected  confidently  to  meet  him  at  this  visit," 
fie  said,  glancing  at  the  door  to  guard  against  being 
«,.verheard.  "  Should  he  not  return  to-day,  ought  I  not. 
nefore  leaving  this  to-morrow,  to  write  to  him,  since 
De  is  legally  his  sister's  guardian  ?  It  is,  you  and  she 
tell  me,  a  mere  form,  but  one  that  should  not  be  dis 
pensed  with  any  longer." 

"  That  may  be  so.  Winston  is  rigorous  in  requiring 
^hat  is  due  to  his  position  —  is,  in  some  respects,  a  fear 
ful  formalist.  But  he  will  hardly  oppose  your  wishes 
*rid  Mabel's.  He  has  her  real  happiness  at  heart,  I  be 
lieve,  although  he  is,  at  times,  an  over-strict  and  exact 
ing  guardian  —  perhaps  to  counterbalance  my  indul 
gent  policy.  He  ifl  unlike  any  other  young  man  I 
know." 

"  His  sister  is  very  much  attached  to  him." 

u  She  loves  him  —  I  was  about  to  say,  preposterously. 

Her  implicit  belief  in  and  obedience  to  him  have  in 

creased  hie  self-confidence  into  a  dogmatic  assertion  oi 

infallibility.    But "  —  fearing  ehe  might  create  an  usi 


DSWLE88  B08JX&  II 


fortunate  impression  upon  the  listener's  mind  — 
ston  has  grounds  for  his  good  opinion  of  himself.  Hi* 
character  is  unblemished  —  his  principles  and  aims  are 
excellent.  Only  "  —  relapsing  hopelessly  into  the  con^ 
Mential  strain  in  which  most  of  the  conference  had 
been  carried  —  "  between  ourselves,  my  dear  Frederic, 
I  am  never  quite  easy  with  these  patterns  to  the  rest 
of  human-kind.  I  should  even  prefer  a  tiny  vein  of 
depravity  to  such  very  rectangular  virtue." 

rt  You  are  seldom  ill  at  ease,  if  human  perfection  u 
all  that  renders  you  uncomfortable,"  responded  Fred 
eric.  "  There  are  not  many  in  whose  composition  one 
cannot  trace,  not  a  tiny,  but  a  broad  vein  of  Adamic 
nature.  What  a  delicious  morning!"  he  added, 
eauntering  to  the  window. 

"And  how  sorry  I  am  for  those  who  did  not  get  up 
in  time  to  enjoy  the  freshness  of  its  beauty  !  "  cried  a 
gay  voice  from  the  portico,  and  Mabel  entered  by  the 
glass  door  behind  him  —  her  hands  loaded  with  roses, 
herself  so  beaming  that  her  lover  refrained  with  dim 
culty  from  kissing  the  saucy  mouth  then  and  there. 

He  did  take  both  her  hands,  under  pretext  of  reliev 
ing  her  of  the  flowers,  and  Aunt  Rachel  judiciously 
turned  her  back  upon  them,  and  began  a  diligent  search 
in  the  beaufet  for  a  vase. 

"  Do  you  expect  us  to  believe  that  yon  have  been 
cuore  industrious  than  we  I  As  if  we  did  not  know 
that  you  br'  oed  the  gardener  to  have  a  bouquet  cut  and 


80  D&WLS88  &08JS& 

laid  ready  for  yon  at  the  back-door/*  Frederic  charged 
upon  the  matutinal  Flora.  "Else,  where  are  othei 
evidences  of  your  stroll,  in  dew-sprinkled  draperief 
».nd  wet  feet  $  Confess  that  you  ran  down  stairs  just 
two  minutes  ago!  Now  that  1  come  to  think  of  it,  I 
a  in  positive  that  1  heard  you,  while  Mrs.  Button  was 
lamenting  your  drowsy  proclivities  after  sunrise." 

"  I  have  been  sitting  in  the  summer-house  for  an 
hour  —  reading  I  "  protested  Mabel,  wondrously  re 
signed  to  the  detention,  after  a  single,  and  not  violent 
attempt  at  release.  If  you  had  opened  your  shutters 
you  must  have  seen  me.  But  I  knew  I  was  secure 
from  observation  on  that  side  of  the  house,  at  least  un 
til  eight  o'clock,  about  which  time  the  glories  of  the 
uew  day  usually  penetrate  very  tightly-closed  lids.  As 
to  dew  —  there  isn't  a  drop  upon  grass  or  blossom 
And,  by  the  same  token,  we  shall  have  a  storm  withii* 
twenty-four  hours." 

"  Is  that  true  I  That  is  a  meteorological  presage  ) 
never  heard  of  until  now." 

"  There  is  a  moral  in  it,  which  I  leave  you  to  study 
<'/ut  for  yourself,  while  I  arrange  the  roses  I  —  and  not 
the  gardener  —  gathered." 

In  a  whisper,  she  subjoined  —  "  Let  me  go !  Some 
one  i&  corning  I  "  and  in  a  second  more  was  at  the  side 
hoard,  hurrying  the  flowers  into  the  antique  chin* 
bowl,  destined  to  grace  the  centre  of  the  breakfast 
tab**. 


DXWLB&S  XGff&S.  91 

"  Good-morning,  Miss  Rosa.  You  are  just  in  sea 
son  to  enjoy  the  society  of  your  sister,"  Frederic  said, 
lightly,  pointing  to  the  billows  of  mingled  white  and 
red,  tossing  under  Mabel's  fingers. 

The  new-comer  approached  the  sideboard,  leaned 
languidly  upon  her  elbow,  and  picked  up  a  half  -blown 
bud  at  random  from  the  pile. 

"  They  are  scentless  I  "  she  complained. 

"  Because  dewless  1  "  replied  Mabel,  with  profound 
gravity.  "  It  is  the  tearful  heart  that  gives  out  the 
sweetest  fragrance." 

<k  I  have  more  faith  in  sunshine,"  interrupted  Rosa, 
a  tinge  of  contempt  in  her  smile  and  accent.  "  Or  — 
to  drop  metaphors,  at  which  I  always  bungle  —  it  ig 
my  belief  that  it  is  easy  for  happy  people  to  be  good. 
All  this  talk  about  the  sweetness  of  crushed  blossoms, 
throwing  their  fragranoe  from  the  wounded  part,  and 
the  riven  sandal-tree,  and  the  blessed  uses  of  adversity, 
is  outrageous  balderdash,  according  to  my  doctrine. 
A  buried  thing  is  but  one  degree  better  than  a  dead 
one.  What  it  is  the  fashion  of  poets  and  sentimen 
talists  to  call  perfume,  ia  the  odor  of  incipient  de 
cay," 


are  illustrating  your  position  by  means  of  my 
poor  oriental  pearl,"  remonstrated  Mabel,  playfully, 
arresting  the  hand  that  was  beating  the  life  and  wnite- 
ness  out  of  the  floweret  upon  the  marble  top  of  th« 
beaufet.  "Take  this  hardy  gtant  de  batoill**,  in- 


22  DEWL38* 


stead.  My  bouquet  inmst  have  a  cluster  of  pear  ji  £01 
«  heart" 

"  What  a  fierce  crimson  f  "  Frederic  remarked  upc* 
the  widely-opened  ?^ee  Miss  Tazeweil  received  iii 
place  of  the  delicate  bud.  "  That  must  be  the  4  hue 
angry,  yet  brave,'  which,  Mr.  George,  Herbert  asserta, 
*  bids  the  rash  gazer  wipe  his  eye.'  " 

u  More  poetical  nonsense  I  "  said  Rosa,  deliberately 
tearing  the  bold  "  g6a/nt  "  to  pieces  down  to  the  bare 
stem,  "  unless  he  meant  to  be  comic,  and  intimate  that 
the  gazer  was  so  rash  as  to  come  too  near  the  bush, 
and  ran  a  thorn  into  the  pupil." 

No  one  answered,  except  by  the  indulgent  Bmile  that 
usually  greeted  her  sallies,  however  absurd,  among 
those  accustomed  to  the  spoiled  child*!  vagaries. 

Mabel  was  making  some  leisurely  additions  to  her 
bouquet  in  the  shape  of  ribbon  grass  smd  pendent  ivy 
sprays,  coaxing  these  with  persuasive  touches  to  trai1 
over  the  edge  and  entwine  the  pedeutal  of  the  salve; 
on  which  her  bowl  was  elevated  ;  her  head  set  slightl  v 
on  one  side,  her  lips  apart  ia  a  smile  of  enjoyment  in 
her  work  and  in  herself.  It  was  a  picture  the  lovei 
studied  fondly  —  one  that  hung  forever  thereafter  in 
his  gallery  of  mental  portraits.  Beyond  a  pair  of  fine 
gray  eyes,  the  pliant  grace  of  her  figure  and  the  buoy 
ant  carriage  of  youth,  health,  and  a  glad  heart,  Mabel'a 
pretensions  to  beauty  were  comparatively  few,  said  the 
world.  Frederic  Chilton  had,  nevertheless,  fallen  IB 


DSWLSS8  BOSX8.  28 

kovc  with  her  at  sight,  and  considered  her,  nowt 
the  handsomest  woman  of  his  acquaintance.  Hei 
dress  was  a  simple  lawn  —  a  sheer  white  fabric,  with 
bunches  of  purple  grass  Ixand  up  with  yellow  wheat, 
scattered  over  it ;  her  hair  was  lustrous  and  abund&n^ 
and  her  face,  besides  being  happy,  was  frank  and  in 
telligent,  with  wonderful  mobility  of  expression.  In 
temperament  and  sentiment ;  in  capacity  for,  and  in 
demonstration  of  affection,  she  suited  Frederic  to  the 
finest  fibre  of  his  mind  and  heart.  He,  for  one,  did 
not  c^rp  at  Aunt  Rachel's  declaration  that  they  werp 
intended  to  spend  time  and  eternity  together. 

Still,  Mabel  Aylett  was  not  a  belle,  and  Eosa  Taze- 
well  was.  Callow  collegians  and  enterprising  young 
merchants  from  the  city ;  sunbrowned  owners  of  spread 
ing  acres  and  hosts  of  laborers ;  students  and  practi 
tioners  of  lav  and  medicine,  and  an  occasional  theo- 
logue,  had  broken  their  hearts  for  perhaps  a  month  at 
a  time,  for  love  of  her,  since  she  was  a  school -girl  in 
abort  dresses.  Yet  there  had  been  a  date  very  fai 
back  in  the  acquaintanceship  of  each  of  these  with 
the  charmer,  when  he  had  marvelled  at  the  infatuation 
which  had  blinded  her  previous  adorers.  She  was  "  a 
neat  little  thing,"  with  her  round  waifit,  her  tiny  hands 
and  feet  and  roguish  eye  —  but  there  was  nothing  else 
remarkable  about  her  features,  and  in  coloring,  the  pic 
ture  was  too  dark  for  his  taste,  Why,  she  might  b€ 
mistaken  for  a  Creole !  And  each  critic  held  fast  to 


DBWLE88  ROBB& 

iiife  expressed  opinion  until  the  roguish  eyes  met  hit 
directly  and  with  meaning,  and  he  found  himself  div 
ing  into  the  bright,  shimmering  wells,  and  drowning 
—  still  ecstatically — before  he  reached  the  bottom 
whence  streamed  the  light  of  passionate  feeling,  strik 
ing  upward  through  the  surface.  What  her  glanoei 
did  not  effect  was  done  by  her  dazzling  smile  and  musi* 
cal  voice. 

As  one  of  her  victims  swore,  "  It  was  a  dearei 
delight  to  be  rejected  by  her  than  to  be  accepted  by  a 
dozen  other  girls  —  she  did  the  thing  up  so  hand 
somely  I  And  yet,  do  you  know,  sir,  I  could  have 
shot  myself  for  a  barbarous  brute  when  I  saw  the 
pitying  tears  standing  upon  her  lashes,  and  heard  the 
tremor  in  her  sweet  tones,  as  she  begged  me  to  forgive 
her  for  not  loving  me ! n 

Those  she  had  once  captivated  never  quite  rid  them 
selves  of  the  glamour  of  her  arts ;  remained  her  trusty 
squires,  ready  to  serve,  or  to  defend  her  always  after 
ward. 

Aunt  Rachel,  latent,  during  the  short  pause,  upon 
the  movements  of  the  servant  who  was  setting  the 
smoking  breakfast  upon  the  table,  glanced  around 
when  all  was  properly  arranged,  to  summon  the  two 
to  their  places  —  but  something  in  Rosa's  attitude  and 
countenance  held  her  momentarily  speechless.  Mabel 
§till  bent  over  her  roses,  in  smiling  interest,  and  Fred* 
eric  Chilton  was  watching  her  — but  not  as  the  third 


DMWLX88  B08X&  2$ 

person  of  the  group  about  the  beaufet  watched  them 
both  between  her  half-closed  lids,  her  black  brows 
close  together,  and  the  glittering  teeth  visible  under 
the  curling  upper  lip. 

"  She  looked  like  a  panther  lying  in  wait  for  her 
f»rey ! "  Mrs.  Sutton  said  to  her  niece,  many  months 
later,  in  attempting  to  describe  the  scene.  "  Or  like  a 
bright-eyed  snake  coiled  for  a  spring.  The  sight  of 
her  sent  shivers  all  down  my  spine." 

Her  interruption  of  the  tableau  sounded  oddly 
*brapt  to  ears  used  to  her  pleasant  accents. 

"  Come,  young  people  I  how  long  are  you  going  to 
keep  me  waiting  ?  Breakfast  is  cooling  fast !  " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Auntie !  I  did  not  notice  that 
it  had  been  brought  in,"  apologized  Mabel,  drawing 
oack,  that  Frederic  might  lift  the  loaded  salver  care* 
fully  to  its  place  upon  the  board. 

As  they  were  closing  about  this,  they  were  joined  by 
Messrs.  Barksdale  and  Branch,  Miss  Tabb  delaying  her 
appearance  until  the  repast  was  nearly  over,  and  meet 
ing  the  raillery  of  the  party  upon  her  late  rising  with 
the  sweet,  soft  smile  her  cousin-betrothed  admired 
is  the  indication  of  unadulterated  amiability.  The 
breakfast-hour,  always  pleasant,  was  to-day  particu- 
:ai  ly  merry.  Kosa  led  off  in  the  laughing  debates,  the 
play  of  repartee,  friendly  jest,  and  anecdote  that  incit 
ed  all  to  mirth  and  speech,  and  tempted  them  to  linger 
s 


DEWLBB8  S08S8. 

around  the  table  long  after  the  business  of  the  meal 
wa»  concluded. 

"  This  is  the  perfection  of  country  life  I "  said  Fred 
eric  Chilton,  when,  at  last,  there  was  a  movement  tc 
end  the  sitting.    "  But  it  spoils  one  fearfully  for  the 
everyday  practicalities  of  the  city  —  a  Northern  city, 
especially." 

"  Better  stay  where  yon  are,  then,  instead  of  desert 
ing  our  ranks  to-morrow,"  suggested  Rosa,  gliding  by 
his  side  out  upon  the  long  portico  at  the  end  of  the 
house.  "  What  does  your  nature  crave  that  Ridgeley 
cannot  supply  $ " 

"  Work,  and  a  career ! " 

"  You  still  feel  the  need  of  these  ? "  significantly. 

"  Otherwise  I  were  no  man !  " 

"  You  are  right !  " 

Her  disdainful  eyes  wandered  to  the  farther  end  of 
the  portico,  where  Alfred  Branch,  in  his  natty  suit  of 
white  grasscloth,  plucked  at  his  ebon  whiskers  with 
ontanned  fingers,  and  talked  society  nothings  with  the 
ever-complaisant  Imogene. 

"  Come  what  may,  you,  Mr.  Chilton,  have  occupation 
for  thought  and  hands ;  are  not  tied  down  to  a  detest" 
able  routine  of  vapid  pleasures  and  common-place 
people  I " 

"  You  are  —  erery  independent  woman  and  man  — 
i£  as  free  in  this  respect  as  myself,  Miss  Rosa. 
&eed  be  a  slave  to  conventionality  unless  he  choose," 


3JSWLX88  808B&  S7 

She  made  a  gesture  that  was  like  twisting  a  chain 
tapon  her  wrist. 

"  Yon  iuow  you  are  not  sincere  in  saying  that  1 
wondered,  moreover,  when  you  were  railing  at  the 
practicalities  of  city  life,  if  you  were  learning,  like  the 
rest  of  the  men,  to  accommodate  your  talk  to  your 
audience.  Where  is  the  use  of  your  trying  to  disguise 
the  truth  that  all  women  are  slaves  ?  I  used  to  envy 
you  when  I  was  in  Philadelphia,  last  winter,  when  you 
pleaded  business  engagements  as  an  excuse  for  declin 
ing  invitations  to  dinner-parties  and  balls.  Now,  if  a 
woman  defies  popular  decrees  by  refusing  to  exhibit 
herself  for  the  popular  entertainment,  the  horrible 
whisper  is  forthwith  circulated  that  she  has  been ' dis 
appointed,'  and  is  hiding  her  green  wound  in  her 
sewing-room  or  oratory.  'Disappointed,'  forsooth! 
That  is  what  they  say  of  every  girl  who  is  not  married 
to  somebody  by  the  time  she  is  twenty-five.  It  matters 
not  whether  she  cares  for  him  or  not.  Having  but  on* 
object  in  existence,  there  can  be  but  one  species  of  dis 
appointment.  Marry  she  must,  or  be  pitied/"  with  a 
stinging  emphasis  on  the  last  word. 

Tom  Barksdale  and  Mabel  were  pacing  the  portico 
from  end  to  end,  chatting  with  the  cheerful  familiarity 
of  old  friends.  Catching  some  of  this  energetic  sen 
tence,  Mabel  looked  over  her  shoulder. 

"  Who  of  us  is  fated  tc  be  pitied,  did  you  say,  Root 
dear!" 


$3  vawussa  &Q&B& 

"  flever  yourself ! "  was  the  curt  reply.  "  Beit  corn- 
tent  with  that  assurance." 

Her  restless  fingers  began  to  gather  the  red  leavef 
that  already  variegated  the  fob'age  of  the  creeper  shad 
ing  tne  porch.  Strangely  indisposed  to  answer  her 
animadversions  upon  the  world's  judgment  of  her  se*, 
or  to  acknowledge  the  implied  compliment  to  his  be 
trothed,  Frederic  watched  the  lithe,  dark  haads,  as  thej 
overflowed  with  the  vermilion  trophies  of  autumn. 
The  September  sunshine  sifted  through  the  vines  in 
patches  upon  the  floor ;  the  low  laughter  and  blended 
voices  of  the  four  talkers ;  the  echo  of  Tom's  manly 
tread,  and  Mabel's  lighter  footfall,  were  all  jocund 
music,  befitting  the  brightness  of  the  day  and  world. 
What  was  the  spell  by  which  this  pettish  girl  who  stood 
by  him,  her  luminous  eyes  fixed  in  sardonic  melancholy 
upon  the  promenaders,  while  she  rubUsJ  the  dying 
leaves  into  atoms  between  her  palms  —  had  stamped 
scenes  and  sounds  with  immortality,  yet  thrilled  him 
with  the  indefinite  sense  of  unreality  and  dread  one 
feels  in  scanning  the  lineaments  of  the  beloved  dead  I 
Rad  her  nervous  folly  infected  him?  What  absurd 
phantasy  was  here,  and  what  hi»  concern  in  her 
whims? 

A  stifled  cry  from  Mabel  aroused  him  to  active  at 
tention.  A  gentlemen  had  stepped  from  the  houM 
upon  the  piazza,  and  after  bending  to  kiss  her, 
ihaking  hands  with  her  companion*. 


DMWLX88  1KMUE&  99 

4  The  Grand  Mogul ! "  muttered  Koea,  with  a  court 
it  ri  mace,  and  not  offering  to  stir  in  the  direction  of  the 
gtraiiger. 

In  another  moment  Mabel  had  led  nim  up  to  hei 
lover,  and  introduced,  in  her  pretty,  ladylike  way,  ano 
bravely  enough,  considering  her  bluahea,  uMr.  Ghiltaft  *' 
to  u  my  brother,  Mr.  Wiwtun 


CHAPTER  IL 

4H  KZOHAJTOX    >tf  OONFTDEH OM. 

«o  you  know  notning  of  this  gentleman  D6 
yond  what  he  luu»  told  you  of  his  character  and 
antecedents  t " 

Aunt  RacKel  had  knocked  at  the  door  of  her 
aephew's  study  after  dinner,  on  the  day  of  hi*  return, 
and  asked  for  an  interview. 

"  Although  I  k&ow  you  must  be  very  busy  with  your 
accounts,  and  «o  forth,  having  been  away  from  the 
plantation  for  »u  \<y*g9'  ashe  said,  deprecatingly,  yet  ac 
cepting  the  invitation  to  enter. 

Mr.  Aylett's  eye  left  here  as  he  replied  that  he  wai 
quite  at  liberty  to  listen  to  whatever  she  had  to  say,  but 
his  manner  was  entirely  his  own  —  polished  and  cooL 
Family  tradition  had  it  that  he  was  natuially  a  man 
of  strong  passions  and  violent  temper,  but  since  hit 
college  days,  he  had  never,  as  far  as  living  mortal  could 
testify,  lifted  the  impassive  mask  he  wore,  at  the  bid 
ding  of   anger,  surprise,  or   alarm.     He  ran    all   hi§ 
tilts  —  and  he  wa?  not  a  non-combatant  by  any  meant 


AIT  EXCHANGE  OP  CONFIDENCES.  31 

• —  with  locked  vistr.  In  person,  he  was  commanding 
in  stature ;  hie  features  were  symmetrical ;  his  bearing 
high-bred.  TTis  conversation  was  sensible,  but  nevei 
brilliant  or  animated.  In  his  own  household  he  wai 
calmly  despotic ;  in  his  county,  respected  and  unpopu 
lar  —  one  of  whom  nobody  dared  speak  ill,  yet  whom 
nobody  had  reason  to  love.  There  was  a  single  per 
son  who  believed  herself  to  be  an  exception  to  thil 
rule.  This  was  his  sister  MabeL  Some  said  she  wor 
shipped  him  in  default  of  any  other  object  upon  which 
whe  could  expend  the  wealth  of  her  young,  ardent 
heart ;  others,  that  his  strong  will  enforced  her  homage. 
The  fact  of  her  devotion  WAS  undeniable,  and  upon  hii 
appreciation  of  this  Aunt  .Rachel  built  her  expectations 
of  a  favorable  hearing  when  she  volunteered  to  prepare 
the  way  for  Mr.  Chilton's  formal  application  for  the 
hand  of  her  nephew's  ward.  Between  herself  and 
Winston  there  existed  little  real  liking  and  less  affinity. 
She  was  useful  to  him,  and  his  tolerance  of  her  society 
was  courteous,  but  she  understood  perfectly  that  he 
secretly  despised  many  of  her  views  and  aetHns,  as, 
indeed,  he  did  those  of  most  women.  Her  present 
mission  was  undertaken  for  the  love  she  bore  Mabel 
and  her  sister.  It  was  not  kind  to  send  the  girl  to  tell 
her  own  story.  It  was  neither  kind  nor  fair  to  subject 
their  guest  to  the  ordeal  of  an  unheralded  disclosure 
of  his  sentiments  and  aspirations,  with  the  puissant 
lord  of  Ridgeley  as  sole  auditor. 


13  AN  2C&CHAN&B  Of 


"  Fred  would  never  get  over  the  first  impression  oi 
your  brother's  chilling  reserve,"  said  the  self  -appointed 
envoy  to  Mabel,  when  she  insisted  that  her  affianced 
would  plead  his  cause  more  eloquently  than  a  third 
person  could.  "  For,  you,  must  confess,  my  love,  that 
Winston,  although  in  most  respects  a  model  to  other 
young  men,  is  unapproachable  by  strangers." 

As  she  said.  "  your  accounts  and  so  forth,"  she  looked 
at  the  table  from  whicn  Mr.  Aylett  had  arisen  to  set  a 
chair  for  her.  There  was  a  pile  of  account-books  at 
the  side  against  the  wall,  but  they  were  shut,  and  over 
heaped  by  pamphlets  and  newspapers;  while  "before 
the  owner's  seat  lay  an  open  portfolio,  an  unfinished 
letter  within  it  Winston  wiped  his  pen  with  delibera 
tion,  closed  the  portfolio,  snapped  to  the  spring-top 
of  his  inkstand,  and  finally  wheeled  his  office  chaii 
away  from  the  desk  to  face  his  visitor. 

"  Is  it  upon  business  that  you  wish  to  speak  to  me  !  * 

He  always  disdained  circumlocution,  prided  himafjj 
a  pen  the  directness  and  simplicity  of  his  address.  This 
acted  now  as  a  dissuasive  to  the  sentimental  address  Mrs. 
Button  had  meditated  as  a  means  of  winning  the  flinty 
walls  behind  which  his  social  affections  and  sympathies 
were  supposed  to  be  intrenched  Had  her  mission 
been  in  behalf  of  any  other  cause,  she  would  hav§ 
drawn  off  her  forces  upon  some  pretext,  and  effected 
an  ignominious  retreat.  Nerved  by  the  thought  of 


AJff  EXOHANQS  OP  OONPIDSNOS&  33 

Mabel's    bashfulness  and    solicitude,   and  Frederic's 
gtraagerhood,  she  stood  to  her  guns. 

Winston  heard  her  stor yv  from  the  not  very  coherent 
preamble,  to  the  warm  and  unqualified  endorsement  of 
Frederic  Chilton'g  credentials,  and  her  moved  mention 
of  the  mutual  attachment  of  the  youthful  pair,  and 
never  changed  his  attitude,  or  manifested  any  incline 
tion  to  stay  the  narration  by  question  or  comment 
When  she  ceased  speaking,  his  physiognomy  denoted 
no  emotion  whatever  Yet,  Mabel  was  his  nearest  liv 
ing  relative.  She  had  been  bequeathed  to  his  care, 
when  only  ten  years  old,  by  the  will  of  their  dying 
father,  and  grown  up  under  his  eye  as  his  child,  rather 
than  a  sister.  And  he  was  hearing,  for  the  first  time, 
of  her  desire  to  quit  the  home  they  had  shared  together 
from  her  birth,  for  the  protection  and  companionship 
of  another.  Mrs.  Button  thought  herself  pretty  well 
versed  in  "  Winston's  ways,"  but  she  had  expected  to 
detect  a  shade  of  softness  in  the  cold,  never-bright  eyes 
and  anticipated  another  rejoinder  than  the  sentence 
that  stands  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 

"  And  so  you  know  nothing  of  this  gentleman  be^ 
yond  what  he  has  told  you  of  his  character  and  antece 
dents  \ "  he  said  —  the  slender  white  fingers,  his  aunt 
fancied,  looked  cruel  even  in  their  idleness,  lightly 
linked  together,  while  hifl  elbows  rested  upon  the  anni 
of  his  chair. 

*  My  dear  Winston !  wnat  a  question  i    Haven't  1 
t* 


34  AN  EXCHANGE  OF  CONFIDENCES. 

told  yo  i  that  he  is  my  husband's  namesake  and  god 
son  I  1  was  at  his  fathers  hjuse  a  score  of  times,  at 
least,  in  dear  Frederic's  life-time.  It  was  a  charming 
place,  and  I  never  saw  a  more  lovely  family.  I  reco* 
lect  this  boy  perfectly,  as  was  very  natural,  seeing  thai 
his  name  was  such  a  compliment  to  my  husband.  He 
was  a  fine,  manly  little  fellow,  and  the  eldest  son.  The 
christening-feast  was  postponed,  for  some  reason  I  do 
not  now  remember,  until  he  was  two  years  old.  It  was 
a  very  fine  affair.  The  company  was  composed  of  the 
very  elite  of  that  part  of  Maryland,  and  the  Bishop 
himself  baptized  the  two  babies  —  Frederic,  and  a 
younger  sister.  I  know  all  about  him,  you  see,  instead 
of  nothing ! " 

"What  was  the  date  of  this  festival?"  asked  Win 
ston's  unwavering  voice. 

"  Let  me  see !  We  had  been  married  seven  years 
that  fall.  It  must  have  been  in  the  winter  of  18 — ." 

"  Twenty-three  years  ago ! "  said  Winston,  yet  more 
quietly.  "  Doubtless,  your  intimacy  with  this  estimable 
and  distinguished  family  continued  up  to  the  time  of 
your  husband's  death  ? " 

"  It  did." 

"And  afterward  f" 

Mrs.  Sutton's  color  waned,  and  her  voice  sank,  as  the 
inquisition  proceeded.  "  Dear  Frederic's  "  death  wai 
not  the  subject  she  would  have  chosen  of  her  free-  will 
to  discuss  with  this  man  cf  steel  and  ice. 


AN  EXCHANGE  Of  Q^NFID&fOSS.  31 

u  1  never  visited  them  again.     I  could  not * 

If  she  hoped  to  retain  a  semblance  cf  composure, 
fche  must  shift  her  ground. 

"  I  returned  to  my  father's  house,  which  was,  aa  you 
know,  more  remote  from  the  borders  of  Mary 
land  " 

"  You  kept  up  a  correspondence,  perhaps  I "  Win 
ston  interposed,  overlooking  her  agitation  as  irrelevant 
*>  the  matter  under  investigation. 

"  i\o!  For  many  months  I  wrote  no  letters  at  all 
and  Mr.  Chilton  was  never  a  punctual  correspondent 
The  best  of  friends  are  apt  to  be  dilatory  in  such  re 
spects,  as  they  advance  in  life." 

"I  gather,  then,  from  what  you  have  admitted"  — 
there  was  no  actual  stress  upon  the  word,  but  it  stood 
obnoxiously  apart  from  the  remainder  of  the  sentence. 
to  Mrs.  Button's  auriculars  —  "from  what  yon  have 
admitted,  that  for  twenty  years  you  have  lost  sight  of 
this  gentleman  and  his  relatives,  and  that  you  might 
never  have  remembered  the  circumstance  of  theii 
^dstence,  had  he  not  introduced  himself  to  you  at  the 
Brings  this  summer." 

"  You  are  mistaken,  there ! "  corrected  the  widow, 
wagerly.  "  Rosa  Tazewell  introduced  him  to  Mabel  at 
the  Orst  *  hop '  she  —  Mabel  —  attended  there.  He  is 
rery  unassuming.  He  would  never  have  forced  him 
self  upon  my  notice.  I  was  struck  by  his  appearance 
and  resemblance  to  his  father,  and  inquired  of  Mabe 


AN  8XCJBJLNGS  09 

who  he  was.     The  rocc^nition  followed  m  *  matter  &f 
oour»e," 
u  He  waa  an  *oq  n*mUue*  of  Mis*  Taueweli  —  dia 


yon 

4  V  e»  —  she  knew  him  very  well  when  she  was  vimt 
ing  in  Piiiladelphia  iast  winter" 

44  Aud  proffered  the  introduction  to  Mabel?"  the 
faintest  imaginable  glimmer  of  sarcastic  amusement  in 
his  eyes,  but  none  in  his  accent 

"  He  requested  it,  1  believe." 

44  That  is  more  probable.  Excuse  my  frankness, 
aunt,  when  1  say  that  it  would  have  been  more  in  con 
Bonance  with  the  laws  controlling  the  conduct  of  really 
thoroughbred  people,  had  your  paragon  —  I  use  the 
?rra  in  no  offensive  sense  —  applied  to  me,  instead  of 
<>  you,  for  permission  to  pay  his  addresses  to  iny  ward. 
I  am  willing  to  ascribe  this  blunder,  however,  to  ignor 
ance  of  the  code  of  polite  society,  and  not  to  intentional 
disrespect,  since  you  represent  the  gentleman  as  ami% 
ble  and  well-meaning.  1  am,  furthermore,  willing  to 
examine  his  certificates  of  character  and  means,  with  & 
view  to  determining  what  are  his  recommendations  U 
my  Bitter's  preference,  over  and  above  bail-rooin  graces 
and  the  fact  that  he  is  Mr.  Button's  namesake,  and 
whether  it  will  be  safe  and  advisable  to  grant  my  con 
gent  to  their  marriage.  Whatever  is  for  Mabel's  re*i 
welfare  shall  be  done,  while  i  cannot  but  wish,  that 
her  choice  had  fallen  upon  some  one  nearer  Jboine 


Aff  EXCHANGE    *f  CONV^DS,^OB&  87 


The  prosecution  of  inquirie*  aa  to  the  reputation  01 
one  whose  residence  ia  so  distant,  <•  a  difficult  and 
delicate  task." 

"  If  yon  will  only  talk  to  him  for  ten  minutes  he 
will  remove  your  scruples,  —  satisfy  you  that  all  is  at 
it  should  be,"  asserted  Mrs.  Button,  more  confidently  to 
him  than  herself. 

"  I  trust  it  will  be  as  you  say  —  but  credulity  is  not 
my  besetting  sin.  I  am  ready  to  see  the  gentleman  at 
any  hour  you  and  he  may  see  fit  to  appoint." 

"  I  will  send  Mr.  Chttton  to  you  at  once,  then."  MM. 
Button  collected  the  scattering  remnants  of  hope  and 
resolution,  that  she  might  deal  a  parting  shot. 

"  Winston  is  an  awful  trial  to  my  temper,  although 
he  never  loses  his  own,"  she  was  wont  to  soliloquize,  in 
the  lack  of  &  confidante  to  whom  she  could  expatiate 
upon  his  eccentricities  and  general  untowardness.  His 
marked  avoidance  of  Frederic's  name  in  this  conference 
savored  to  her  of  insulting  meaning.  She  had  rather 
he  had  coupled  it  with  opprobious  epithets  whenever 
be  referred  to  him,  than  spoken  of  him  as  "  this  "  or 
ki  that  gentleman."  If  he  took  this  high  and  chilly 
tone  with  Mabel's  wooer,  there  was  no  telling  what 
might  be  the  result  of  the  affair. 

"  Don't  mind  him  if  he  is  stiff  and  uncompromising 
for  a  while,"  she  enjoined  upon  Frederic,  in  apprising 
him  of  the  seignior's  readiness  to  grant  him  andienca 
"  It  is  only  his  wav,  and  he  is  Mabel'e  brother." 


38  'IT  EXUHANQti  OP  CONFIDENCES. 

I  will  bear  the  latter  hint  in  mind,"  rejoined  th« 
young  man,  with  the  gay,  affectionate  smile  he  often 
bestowed  upon  her.  u  I  don't  believe  he  can  awe  me 
into  resignation  of  my  purpose,  or  provoke  me  into 
dislike  of  the  rest  of  the  family." 

Mabel  was  in  her  aunt's  room,  plying  her  with 
queries,  hard  to  be  evaded,  touching  the  tenor  and 
consequences  of  her  recent  negotiations,  when  a  servant 
brought  a  message  from  her  brother.  She  was  wanted 
in  the  study.  The  girl  turned  very  white,  as  she  pre 
pared  to  obey,  without  an  idea  of  delay  or  of  refusal. 

"  O  Auntie !  what  if  he  should  order  me  to  give 
Frederic  up  ! "  she  ejaculated,  pausing  at  the  door,  in 
an  agony  of  trepidation.  "  I  never  disobeyed  him  in 
my  life." 

"  He  will  not  do  that,  dear,  never  fear  1  He  can  find 
no  pretext  for  such  summary  proceedings.  And  should 
he  oppose  your  wishes,  be  firm  of  purpose,  and  do  not 
forsake  your  affianced  husband,"  advised  the  old  lady, 
solemnly.  "  There  is  a  duty  which  takes  precedence, 
in  the  sight  of  Heaven  and  man,  of  that  you  owe  your 
brother.  Remember  this,  and  take  courage." 

Mabel's  roses  returned  in  profusion,  when,  upon 
entering  the  arbiter's  dread  presence,  she  saw  Frederic 
Ohilton,  standing  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  table  f  ron 
that  at  which  sat  her  brother  at  his  ease,  his  white  fin 
gers  still  idly  interlaced,  his  pale  patrician  fao« 
emotionless  as  that  of  the  bust  of  Apollo  npon  the  toy 


AN  EXCHANGE   OP  30NPIDENOE&  3S 

*>f  the  bookcase  behind  him.  It  was  Frederic  who  led 
her  to  a  chair,  when  she  stopped,  trembling  midway  » 
the  apartment,  and  his  touch  upon  her  arm  inspirited 
her  to  raise  her  regards  to  Winston's  countenance  *t 
the  sound  of  his  voice. 

"  I  have  sent  for  you,  Mabel,  that  I  may  repeat  iii 
youi  hearing  the  reply  I  have  returned  to  Mr.  Chilton's 
application  for  my  sanction  to  your  engagement  —  I 
should  say,  perhaps,  to  your  reciprocal  attachment 
The  betrothal  of  a  minor  without  the  consent,  positive 
or  implied,  of  her  parent  or  guardian  is,  as  I  have  just 
explained  to  Mr.  Chilton,  but  an  empty  name  in  this 
State.  1  have  promised,  then,  not  to  oppose  your  mar 
riage,  provided  the  inquiries  I  shall  institute  concern 
ing  Mr.  Cliilton's  previous  life,  his  character,  and  his 
ability  to  maintain  you  in  comfort,  are  answered  satis 
factorily.  He  will  understand  and  excuse  my  pertina 
city  upon  this  point  when  he  reflects  upon  the  value  of 
the  stake  involved  in  this  transaction." 

In  all  their  intercourse,  Frederic  had  no  more  gra 
cious  notice  from  Mabel's  brother  than  this  semi- 
apology,  delivered  with  stately  condescension,  and  i 
courtly  bow  in  his  direction. 

It  sounded  very  grand  to  Mabel,  whose  fears  of 
opposition  or  severity  from  her  Mentor  had  shaken 
courage  and  nerves  into  pitiable  distress.  Frederic 
eculd  desire  nothing  more  affable  than  Winston  s  smile ; 
BO  more  abundant  encouragement  than  was  afforded  by 


iU  AN  SXOKANQB  OF 

hife  voluntary  pledge.  Had  not  the  thought  savored  oi 
disloyalty  to  her  lover,  she  would  have  confessed  her 
self  disappointed  that  his  reply  did  not  effervesce  *  ith 
gratitude,  that  his  deportment  was  distant,  his  ton? 
constrained. 

"I  appreciate  the  last-named  consideration,  Mr, 
Aylett,  1  believe,  thoroughly,  as  you  do.  I  have  al 
ready  told  you  that  I  invite,  not  shirk,  the  investigation 
you  propose.  I  now  repeat  my  offer  of  whatever  facil 
ity  is  at  my  command  for  carrying  this  on.  No  hon 
orable  man  could  do  less.  Unless  I  mistake,  you  wis.h 
now  to  see  your  sister  alone." 

He  bent  his  head  slightly,  and  without  other  and 
especial  salutation  to  his  betrothed,  withdrew. 

Odd,  white  dints  came  and  went  in  Winston's  nos 
trils  —  the  one  and  unerring  facial  sign  of  displeasure  he 
ever  exhibited,  if  we  except  a  certain  hardening  of  eye 
and  contour  that  chiselled  his  lineaments  into  a  yet 
closer  resemblance  to  marble. 

"  He  is  very  sensitive  and  proud,  I  know,"  faltered 
Mabel,  hastily  marking  these,  and  understanding  what 
they  portended. 

"  You  need  not  like  him  the  less  on  that  account, 
always  provided  that  the  supports  of  his  pride  are  legit 
imate  aud  substantial,"  answered  her  brother,  care 
lessly  transferring  to  his  tablets  several  names  from  * 
iheet  of  paper  upon  the  table  —  the  addresses  of  per 
•on*  to  whom  Frederic  had  Deferred  him  for  confirma 


AS  XZOHANQB  OF  ^ 


tion  of  his  statements  regarding  his  social  and  prof  e* 
ttonal  standing. 

"  I  hope,  for  your  sake,  Mabel,"  he  pursued,  pocket 
ing  the  memoranda,  "  that  this  affair  may  be  speedil* 
and  agreeably  adjusted;  while  I  cannot  deny  ;hat  I 
deprecate  the  unseemly  haste  with  which  Mrs.  Suttor 
and  her  ally  have  urged  it  on,  in  my  absence.  Had 
they  intended  to  court  suspicion,  they  could  not  have 
done  it  more  effectually.  You  could  not  have  had  A 
more  injudicious  ckaperone  to  the  Springs." 

"  Indeed,  brother,  she  was  not  to  blame,"  began  the 
generous  girl,  forgetting  her  embarrassment  in  zealous 
defence  of  the  aunt  she  loved.  "  It  was  not  she  who 
presented  me  to  Mr.  Chilton,  and  she  has  never  at 
tempted  to  bias  my  decision  in  any  manner." 

"  I  have  heard  the  history  in  detail."  Had  hia 
breeding  been  less  fine,  he  would  have  yawned  in  her 
face.  "  I  know  that  you  are  indebted  for  Mr.  Chilton'8 
acquaintanceship  to  Miss  Tazewell's  generosity.  But 
in  strict  justice,  Mrs.  Sutton  should  be  held  responsi 
ble  for  whatever  unhappiness  may  arise  from  the  inti 
macy  You  were  left  by  myself  in  her  charge." 

"  I  do  not  believe  it  will  end  unhappily,"  Mabel  was 
moved  to  reply,  with  spirit  that  became  her  better  than 
the  shyness  she  had  heretofore  displayed,  or  the  sub 
missive  demeanor  usual  with  her  in  t&te-d-tites  witb 
her  guardian. 

He  smiled  in  caln?  superiority. 


*2  AN  EXCHANGE    >P  CGNFID2N(.1L& 

"  I  have  expressed  my  hope  to  that  effect  Of  ejt 
pectations  it  will  be  time  enough  to  speak  wAen  I  am 
better  informed  upon  divers  points.  I  am  not  one  to 
take  mach  for  granted,  am  less  sanguine  than  my 
romantic  aunt,  or  even  tha.1  my  more  practical  sister. 
Assuming,  however,  that  all  is  as  you  would  have  it* 
your  wish  would  be,  I  suppose,  for  an  early  marriage  ? ' 

"  There  has  been  little  said  about  that,"  responded 
Mabel,  reddening  —  then  rallying  to  add  smilingly  - 
**  such  an  arrangement  would  have  involved  the  taking 
for  granted  a  good  many  things  —  your  consent  among 
them." 

"Winston  passed  over  the  addenda. 

"But  that  little,  especially  when  uttered  by  Mr. 
Chilton,  trenched  upon  the  inexpediency  of  long  en 
gageinents  —  did  it  not  ?  " 

Mabel  was  mute,  her  eyes  downcast. 

"  I  agree  with  him  there,  at  any  rate.  Yon  are 
nineteen  years  of  age  ;  he  twenty-five.  Your  proper,*^ 
is  unincumbered,  and  can  be  transferred  to  your  keep 
ing  at  very  short  notice.  Mr.  Chilton  represents  that 
Ids  income  from  his  patrimonial  estate,  eked  out  by 
professional  gains,  is  sufficient  to  warrant  him  in 
aaarrying  forthwith.  I  shall  see  that  no  time  is  lost  in 
imking  the  inquiries  upon  which  depends  the  progress 
af  the  negotiation.  Business  calls  me  North  in  a  week 
or  ten  days,  I  shall  stop  a  day  in  Philadelphia,  and 
nettle  your  affair  " 


AJU  EXCHANGE  OP   VONPIDENOE8.  43 

The  frightfully  business-like  manner  of  disposing  of 
her  happiness  appalled  the  listener  into  silence.  The 
loss  of  Frederic ;  the  destruction  of  her  love-dream ; 
the  weary  years  of  lonely  wretchedness  that  would  fol 
low  the  bereavement,  were  to  him  only  unimportant 
incidentals  to  her  "  affair ; "  weighed  in  the  scale  of  hii 
impartial  judgment  no  more  than  would  anconsidered 
dust.  For  the  first  time  in  the  life  to  which  he  had 
been  the  guiding-star,  she  ventured  to  wonder  if  the 
unswerving  rectitude  that  had  elevated  him  above  the 
^evel  of  other  men,  in  her  esteem  and  affection,  were  so 
glorious  a  thing  after  all ;  if  a  tempering,  not  of  human 
frailty,  but  of  charity  for  the  shortcomings,  sympathy 
for  the  needs,  of  ordinary  mortals,  would  not  subdue 
the  effulgence  of  his  talents  and  virtues  into  mild  lus 
tre,  more  tolerable  to  the  optics  of  fallible  beholders 

Unsuspicious,  with  all  his  astuteness,  of  her  sacri- 
^egious  doubts,  Winston  proceeded : 

"  In  the  event  of  your  marriage,  you  would  desire, 
no  doubt,  that  Mrs.  Sutton  should  take  up  her  abode 
with  you  ?  You  would  find  her  useful  in  many  ways, 
and  she  would  get  on  amicably  with  her  husband'i 
godson." 

"  I  do  not  think  she  expects  to  go  with  me,"  an 
swered  Mabel,  staggered  by  his  cooHy  confident  air. 
"  1  certainly  have  never  entertained  the  idea.  I  im- 
Bgined  that  she  would  remain  with  you,  while 
needed  her  service*  .w 


44  AN  EXOHAXQB  OP  OCWFIZBNOB8. 

"  That  will  not  be  long.  I  shall  be  married  on  fch* 
10th  of  October." 

"Married!  brother!"  starting  np  in  amazemaat 
u  You  are  not  in  earnest  I " 

"  I  should  not  jest  upon  such  a  theme,"  replied  Whr 
fcton,  in  grave  rebuke.  "  My  plans  are  definitely  laid. 
It  is  not  my  purpose  to  keep  them  secret  a  day  longer. 
I  meant  to  communicate  them  to  yourself  and  Mr*. 
Button  this  afternoon,  but  yours  claimed  precedence." 

Mabel  sat  down  again,  totally  confounded,  and  strug 
gling  hard  with  her  tears.  The  thought  of  her  broth 
er's  marriage  was  not  in  itself  disagreeable.  She  had 
often  lamented  his  insensibility  to  the  attractions  of 
such  women  as  she  fancied  would  add  to  his  happiness, 
and  grace  the  high  place  to  which  his  wife  would  be 
exalted.  She  never  liked  to  hear  him  called  invulner 
able;  repelled  the  hypothesis  of  his  incurable  bache 
lorhood  as  derogatory  to  his  heart  and  head.  This  UD 
)ooked-f or  intelligence,  had  it  reached  her  in  a  differ 
ent  way,  would  have  delighted  as  much  as  it  astonished 
ber.  The  fear  lest  her  consent  to  wed  Frederic  and 
leave  Ridgeley  might  be  tUe  occasion  of  discomfort  and 
aadne&s  to  her  forsaken  brother  had  shadowed  all  bei 
visions  of  future  bliss.  She  ought  to  have  hailed  with 
unmixed  satisfaction  the  certainty  that  he  woild  no* 
miss  her  sisterly  ministrations,  or  feel  the  need  of  kef 
companionship  in  that  of  one  nearer  and  dearer  than 
was  his  child-ward.  She  had  striven  not  to  reeei*t* 


AN  JCJLUHANGSl  OP  CONFIDENCES.  46 

even  in  her  own  mind,  LIB  cavalier  treatmeLt  oi  hei 
lover ;  had  hearkened  respectfully  and  without  domut 
co  his  unsympathizing  calculations  of  what  was  possfbit 
and  what  feasible  in  the  project  of  her  union  with  the 
man  of  her  choice.  For  how  could  he  know  anything 
i»f  the  palpitations,  the  anxieties,  the  raptures  of  love, 
when  he  was  a  stranger  to  the  touch  of  a  kindred 
emotion  ?  He  meant  well ;  he  had  her  welfare  in  view, 
nnf  ortunate  as  was  his  style  of  discussing  the  mean* 
for  insuring  this —  for  he  loved  her  dearly,  dearly  t 

She  must  never  question  this,  although  he  had  dealt 
the  comfortable  persuasion  a  cruel  blow ;  wounded  he? 
in  a  vital  part  by  withholding  from  her  the  eircum 
stance  of  his  attachment  and  betrothal  until  the  near 
approach  of  the  wedding  day  rendered  continued  se 
crecy  inexpedient.  No  softening  memory  of  his  affi 
anced  had  inclined  him  to  listen  with  kindly  warmth 
to  her  timid  avowals,  or  Frederic's  manly  protestations 
.)f  their  mutual  attachment.  He  recognized  no  analogy 
In  the  two  cases ;  stood  aloof  from  them  in  the  flush 
of  his  successful  love,  as  if  he  had  never  knowr  the 
pregnant  meaning  of  the  word.  Smarting  under  the 
*ense  ^  ^ujury  to  pride  and  affection,  her  language, 
when  she  could  trust  her  voice,  was  a  protest  that,  in 
Winston's  judgment,  ill  beseemed  her  age  and  station. 

"  Why  did  you  not  tell  ine  of  this  earlier,  brother  f 
it  was  unjust  and  unkind  to  keep  me  in  the  dark  until 


46  AN  EXCHANGE   W  CONFIDENCES. 

"  You  forget  yourself,  Mabel.  1  am  not  ander  obli 
Cation  to  account  to  you  for  my  actions." 

He  said  it  composedly,  as  if  stating  a  ti  uth  wholly 
disconnected  with  feeling  on  his  part  or  on  hers, 

"  I  have  given  you  the  information  to  which  you  r^ 
fer,  in  season  for  you  to  make  ample  preparation  for 
my  wife's  reception.  And,  mark  me,  she  must  see  no 
sulkiness,  no  airs  of  strangeness  or  intolerance,  because 
I  have  managed  «a  matter  that  concerns  me  chiefly,  aa 
seemed  to  me  best.  Say  the  same  to  Mrs.  Button,  if 
you  please ;  also  that  I  will  submit  to  no  dictation,  and 
ask  no  advice." 

Mabel's  anger  seldom  outlived  its  utterance.  The 
hot  sparkle  in  her  eye  was  quenched  by  moisture,  as 
she  laid  her  hand  caressingly  upon  her  brother's. 

"  Winston  1  you  cannot  suppose  that  we  could  be 
wanting  in  cordiality  to  any  one  whom  you  love,  much 
less  to  your  wife.  Let  her  come  when  she  may,  she  wiD 
be  heartily  welcomed  by  us  both.  But  thia  has  fallei 
suddenly  upon  me,  and  I  am  a  little  out  of  sorts  to-day, 
I  believe  —  excited  and  nervous  —  and,  O,  my  darling  1 
my  oldest  and  best  of  friends !  I  hope  your  ?ove  will 
bring  to  you  the  happiness  you  deserve." 

The  tears  had  their  course,  at  last,  bathing  the  hand 
she  bowed  to  kiss.  The  simple  ardor  of  the  outbreak 
would  have  affected  many  men  to  a  show  of  responsive 
weakness.  Even  Winston  Aylett's  physiognomy  WM 


AN  EXCHANGE  OF  CONFIDENCES.  W 

more  human  and  less  statuesque,  as  Le   patted  Lev 
head,  and  bade  her  be  composed. 

"  If  you  persist  in  enacting  Mobe,  I  shall  belicv* 
?bat  you  are  chagrined  at  the  prospect  of  having  the 
sister  yon  have  repeatedly  besought  me  to  give  you," 
Le  said,  playfully  —  for  him.  "  You  have  not  asked 
sue  her  name,  and  where  she  lives.  What  has  become 
uf  your  curiosity?  I  never  knew  it  to  be  quiescent 
before." 

"  I  thought  you  would  tell  me  whatever  it  was  best 
*or  me  to  know,"  replied  Mabel,  drying  her  eyes. 

If  she  had  said  that  she  was  too  well-trained  to  assail 
him  with  interrogatories  he  had  not  invited,  it  w^uld 
have  been  nearer  the  mark. 

"  There  is  nothing  relating  to  her  which  I  desire  to 
conceal,"  he  rejoined,  with  some  stiffness,  "or  she 
would  never  have  become  my  promised  wife.  She  is 
a  Miss  Dorrance,  the  daughter  of  a  widow  residing  h? 
the  vicinity  of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  I  met  her  first 
at  Trenton  Falls,  where  a  happy  accident  brought  me 
into  association  with  her  party.  I  travelled  with  them 
to  the  Lakes  and  among  the  White  Mountains,  and, 
*rhile  in  Boston,  visited  her  daily.  We  were  betrothed 
a  week  ago,  and  having,  as  I  have  observed,  an  aver 
sion  to  protracted  engagements,  I  prevailed  upon  her 
to  appoint  the  tenth  of  next  month  as  our  marriago 
day.  There  you  have  the  story  in  brief.  I  have  not 
Mrs.  Button's  talents  as  a  raconteur,  nor 


*8  AN  BXGHANQB  Cf  CONFIDENCES. 

to  torn  hearts  inside  out  I 01  the  edification  of  her  an* 
Jitors." 

"  Does  she  —  Miss  Dorrance  —  look  like  anybody  1 
know  \ "  asked  Mabel,  hesitating  to  declare  herself  dis 
satisfied  with  the  skeleton  love-tale,  yet  nacertain  how 
to  learn  more. 

"  A  roundabout  way  of  asking  if  she  is  passable  in 
appearance,"  Winston  said,  with  his  smile  of  conscious 
superiority.  "Judge  for  yourself  I "  taking  from  his 
Docket  a  miniature. 

"  How  beautiful  I  What  a  very  handsome  woman!  w 
the  sister  exclaimed  at  sight  of  the  pictured  face. 

"  You  are  correct.  She  is,  moreover,  a  thorough 
lady,  and  highly-educated.  Eidgeley  will  have  a 
queenly  mistress.  The  likeness  is  considered  faithful, 
tint  it  does  not  do  her  justice." 

He  took  it  from  Mabel,  and  they  scanned  it  to 
gether ;  she  resting  against  his  shoulder.  She  felt  his 
chest  heave  twice ;  heard  him  swallow  spasmodically 
hi  the  suppression  of  some  mighty  emotion,  and  the 
palpaole  effort  drew  her  very  near  to  him.  She  never 
doubted  from  that  monent,  what  she  h*d  more  cause 
in  after  days  to  believe,  that  he  loved  the  woman  he 
had  won  with  a  fervor  of  passion  that  seemed  foreign 
to  his  temperament  as  the  evidence  of  it  was  to  hit 
conduct. 

The  September  sun  was  near  the  horizon,  and  be 
tween  the  bowed  shutters  one  slender,  gilded  arrow 


^    EXOHAX&S  OP  GONPIDSNG&&  41 

allot  athwart  the  portrait,  producing  a  marvellctui  anc 
sinister  change  in  its  expression.  The  large,  limpid 
eyes  became  shallow  and  cunning ;  the  smile  lurking 
about  the  month  was  the  more  treacherous  and  deadly 
for  its  sweetness;  while  the  burnished  coils  of  haif 
brushed  away  from  the  temples  had  the  opaline  tint! 
and  sinuous  roll  of  a  serpent. 

Mabel  shrank  back  before  the  horror  of  the  abrard 
imagination. 

Winston  raised  the  picture  to  kift  lip* 

«liypeerle«<n»l" 
* 


CHAPTER  IDL 

UNWHOLESOME    VAFOJBS* 

JOBRANCE I  "repeated  Frederic,  after  hi»  b* 
trothed,  when  she  rehearsed   to  him  in  theii 
moonlight  promenade  upon  the  piazza  the  lead 
ing  incidents  of  her  brother's  wooing.     "She 
lives  near  Boston,  yoa  say,  and  her  mother  is  a  widow  ? r 
"  Yes.     What  have  you  ever  heard  about  her?" 
"Nothing  whatever,     I  was  startled  by  the  name— 
bxit  very  foolishly  1     I  once  knew  a  family  of  Dor 
ranees — i$ew  Yorkeis — but  the  father,  a  retiral  nava 
officer,  was  alive,  and  all  the  daughters  w*>re  married 
The  youngest  of  them  would  be,  by  taia  time,  much 
<Ader  than  you  judge  the  original  of  the  miniature  to 
be." 

"  She  is  not  more  than  twenty-two,  at  the  most,"  Ma 
bel  was  sure. 

Frederic's  hurried  articulation  and  abstracted  man 
ner  excited  her  curiosity,  and  unrestrained  by  Winston's 
curb,  it  was  net  •*  quiescent."  The  thought 
tpoken  00  soon  as  it  w*s  formed. 

(CO) 


UNWHOLESOME    FAPOfti  51 

"  There  was  something  unpleasant  in  yoiyr  intercourse 
with  them,  then?  or  something  objectionable  in  the  peo* 
pie  themselves?  Could  they  have  been  relatives  ol 
this  widow  and  her  daughter  ?  The  name  is  net  a  com 
mon  one  to  my  ears," 

"  Nor  to  mine ;  yet  we  have  no  proof  to  sustain  yoar 
supposition.  I  should  be  very  sorry " 

He  stopped. 

Mabel  studied  his  perturbed  countenance  "with  aug 
mented  uneasiness. 

"  Was  not  the  family  respectable  ?" 

"  Perfectly,  my  shrewd  little  catechist ! "  seeming  to 
shake  off  an  uncomfortable  incubus,  as  he  laughed  down 
at  her  serious  face.  "  They  vaunted  themselves  upon 
the  antiquity  of  their  line,  and  were  more  liberal  in 
allusions  to  departed  grandeur  than  was  quite  well- 
bred.  When  I  knew  them  they  were  not  wealthy,  or 
in  what  they  would  have  called  '  society.'  Indeed,  th« 
mother  kept  a  private  boarding-house  near  the  law 
schrx)!  I  attended  There  were  several  sons — very 
decent,  enterprising  fellows.  But  one  lived  at  home, 
and  a  daughter,  the  wife  of  a  lietienant  in  the  navy, 
whom  I  never  saw.  I  boarded  with  them  for  six 
months,  or  thereabout." 

u  You  never  saw  the  daughter  I    How  was  that  ? " 

"  I  must  have  expressed  myself  awkwardly  if  I  con 
veyed  any  such  idea.  I  did  not  meet  the  seafaring 
husband  who  was  off  upon  a  long  cruise.  Tho  wife  1 


i>2  UVWHOUKOMM   VAPOS& 

met  constantly — knew  very  welL  You  need  not  Loclr 
at  me  so  intently,  love}  as  if  yon  feared  that  some  dark 
mystery  lurked  behind  this  matter-of-fact  recitaL  II 
1  do  not  tell  you  every  event  of  my  former  lif 3,  it  it 
not  because  it  was  vile.  I  could  not  sustain  the  light 
of  your  innocent  eyes  if  I  had  ever  been  guilty  of 
aught  dishonorable  or  criminal.  But  even  the  follies 
and  mistakes  of  a  young  man's  early  career  are  not  fit 
themes  for  your  ears.  And  I  was  no  wiser,  no  more 

*  ary,  than  other  youths  of  the  same  age ;  was  apt  to 
Believe  that  fair  which  was  only  specious,  and  that  I 
might  play,  uninjured,  with  edged  tools.    Nor  had  I 
seen  you  then,  my  treasure — my  snow-drop  of  purity! 
Mabel !  do  you  know  how  solemn  a  thing  it  is  to  be 
loved  and  trusted  by  a  man,  as  I  love  and  confide  in 
you  ?    It  terrifies  me  when  I  think  of  the  absoluteness 
of  my  dependence  upon  your  fidelity  —  of  how  rich  I 
*m  in  having  you —  how  poor,  wretched,  and  miserable 
I  should  be  without  you.    I  shall  not  draw  a  free 
breath  until  you  are  mine  beyond  the  chance  of  recalL" 

"  Nobody  eke  wante  me  I "  breathed  Mabel  in  his  ear, 
Beetling  within  the  arm  that  enfolded  and  held  her 
tightly  hi  the  corner  of  the  piazza  shaded  by  the 
creeper.  "  The  danger  of  losing  me  is  not  imniiiient 

•  o-night,  at  all  events,"  she  resumed,  presently,  with  a 
touch  of  the  sportivenees  that  lent  her  manner  an  airy 
charu  in  lighter  talk  than  that  which  had  engrossed 
ber  for  the  past  hour. 


UNWHOLESOME  VAPOS&  53 

The  evening  was  warm  and  still  to  sultriness,  and 
the  moonlight,  filtered  into  pensive  pallor  through  a 
low-lying  haze,  yet  sufficed  to  show  how  confidingly 
Imogene  leaned  upon  her  attendant  in  sauntering  dowm 
the  long  main  alley  of  the  garden.  Rosa  was  at  the 
piano  in  the  parlor,  singing  to  the  enamored  Alfred 
Mrs.  Button  had  withdrawn  to  her  own  room  to  rumi 
nate  upon  the  astounding  disclosure  of  her  nephew's 
engagement,  while  Winston  bent  over  his  study-table 
busy  with  the  interrupted  letter  his  aunt  had  seen  ii 
his  portfolio. 

"  There  is  no  one  here  who  has  the  leisure  or  thr 
disposition  to  contest  your  rights,  you  perceive,"  said 
Mabel,  running  through  a  laughing  summary  of  theii 
companions'  occupations. 

"Betrothals  are  epidemic  in  this  household  and 
neighborhood,"  Winston  wa»  writing.  "  There  are  no 
fewer  than  three  pairs  of  turtles  cooing  down  stairs  *a 
I  pen  this  to  you,  my  bird  of  paradise.  The  case  thut 
next  to  mine — to  ours  —  commands  my  interest  is  that 
of  my  sister.  I  came  home  to  learn  that  the  little  Ma 
bel  i  used  to  hold  on  my  knee  had  entered  into  an 
angagement — conditional  upon  my  sanction — with  that 
traditional  tricky  personage,  a  Philadelphia  lawyer—  a 
Mr.  Frederic  Chilton,  at  the  do*r  of  whose  manifold 
perfections,  as  set  forth  by  my  Minacious  aunt,  you 
may  lay  the  blame  of  this  delayed  epistle.  I  know 
of  this  aspirant  to  th«  dignity  of  brotherhood 


54  UNWHOLESOME  VAPOS& 

with  myself,  saving  the  facts  that  he  is  tolerably  good 
looking,  claims  to  be  the  scion  of  an  old  Maryland 
family,  and  that  self-conceit  is  apparently  his  predomi 
nant  quality." 

"What  is  that?"  asked  Frederic,  halting  before  the 
windows,  of  the  drawing-room,  as  a  wild,  sorrowful 
strain,  like  the  wail  of  a  breaking  heart,  arose  upon  the 
waveless  air. 

Rosa  was  a  vocalist  of  note  in  her  circle,  and  she  had 
tKtver  rendered  anything  with  more  effect  than  she  did 
tlse  song  to  which  even  the  preoccupied  strollers 
among  the  garden  borders  stayed  their  steps  to  listen. 
Through  the  open  casement  Mabel  and  her  lover  could 
see  the  face  of  the  musician,  slightly  uplifted  toward 
the  moonlight ;  her  eyes,  dark  and  dreamy,  as  under 
the  cloud  of  many  years  of  weary  waiting  and  final 
hopelessness.  Her  articulation  waw  always  pure,  but 
*,he  passionate  emphasis  of  every  word  constrained  the 
breathless  attention  of  her  audience  to  the  close  of  the 
limple  lay : 

"Thy  taunt,  was  oone  the  maglo  «yeU 

By  which  my  thoughts  ware  bound ; 
And  burning  dream*  of  light  and  IOTB 

Were  wakened  by  the  round. 
My  heart  beat  qniok  when 

With  idle  prawe  or  blame, 
Awoke  ite  deepest  thrill  of  joy 

To  tremble  at  thy  name. 

"Long  years,  long  years  have 

And  altered  is  thy  brow ; 
And  we  who  met  HO  fondly  once 
Most  meet  aa  Ktrwwrrrp  wow. 


UNWHOLESOME  VAPOB&  5* 


The  friend*  of  yore  come  'rmod  ••  i 

But  talk  no  more  of  thee, 
Twore  idle  e'en  to  wish  it  now, 

For  what  art  thon  to  m*f  " 


*  Tet  rtffl  thy  name— thy 

My  lonely  bosom  flllfl, 
Like  an  eoho  that  hath  tort  Itaelf 

Among  the  distant  hilla, 
That  still,  with  melancholy  note, 

Keepe  faintly  lingering  on, 
When  the  joyons  sound  that  woke  ft  flnl 

Li  gone — forever  gome  !* 

"  A  ieai  xmceit  that  last  verse,  and  the  music  u  t 
fair  mutatu  n  of  a  dying  bugle-echo  1 "  said  Winston 
Ay  let!  to  himself,  resuming  the  writing  he  had  sus 
pended  for  a  minute.  "  That  girl  should  take  to  the 
stage.  If  one  did  not  know  better,  her  eyes  and  sing 
ing  together  wculd  delude  him  into  the  idea  that  she 
had  a  heart.  Honest  Alfred  evidently  believes  that 
dhe  has,  and  that  the  patient  labor  of  love  will  win  it 
for  himself.  Bah  I  * 

Frederic  and  Mabel  retired  noiselessly  from  their 
post  of  observation,  as 4  honest  Alfred  "  made  a  motion 
to  take  in  his  the  hand  lying  prone  and  passive  upon 
the  finger-board.  They  exchanged  a  smile,  significant 
and  tender,  in  withdrawing. 

"  We  understand  the  signs  ^f  the  times,"  whispered 
Frederic,  at  the  upper  turn  of  their  prcmen&de. 
'  Heaven  bless  all  true  lovers  under  the  sun ! " 

"  Don't  1 "  said  Kosa,  vehemently,  snatching  away 
hor  hand  from  her  suitor's  hold.  "  Leave  me  alone  I 
[f  you  touch  me  again  I  shall  scream!  I  think  yov 


56  UBWHOLS80MX  VAPQJUL 

were  made  up  without  nerves,  either  in  the  heart  or  is 
the  brain  —  if  you  hare  any ! n 

Before  the  aghast  Alfred  rallied  from  the  recoil  oc 
casioned  by  her  gesture  and  words,  her  feet  were  pat 
tering  over  the  oaken  hall  and  staircase  in  rapid  retreat 
to  her  chamber. 

"You  are  really  happy,  then  I"  queried  Mabel 
"Quite  content?" 

"Did  I  not  tell  you  awhile  ago  that  I  was  not  satis 
fied  ? "  returned  Chilton.  "  Two  months  since  I  should, 
in  anticipation  of  this  hour,  have  declared  that  it  would 
be  fraught  with  unalloyed  rapture.  I  was  happier  yes 
terday  than  I  am  to-day.  It  is  not  merely  that  we 
must  part  to-morrow,  or  that  your  brother's  precaution 
ary  measures  and  disapproval- of  what  nas  passed  be 
tween  us  have  acted  like  a  shower-bath  to  the  fervor  of 
my  newly  born  hopes.  I  am  willing  that  my  life  should 
be  subjected  to  the  utmost  rigor  of  his  researches,  and 
another  month,  at  farthest,  will  reunite  us.  Nor  do  1 
believe  in  presentiments.  I  am  more  inclined  to  at 
tribute  the  uneasiness  that  has  hovered  over  me  all  the 
day  to  physical  causes.  We  will  call  it  a  mild  splenetic 
case,  induced  by  the  sultry  weather,  and  the  very  slo%» 
tm  coming  of  the  storm  presaged  by  your  dewiest 
roses." 

He  laughed  naturally  and  pleasantly.  Having  con 
fessed  to  what  he  regarded  as  a  ridiculous  succumbing 
of  his  buoyant  spirit  to  atmospheric  influences,  h* 


VAPOB&  §7 

ofl  the  nightmare  a*  if  it  had  neiwr  aat  apos 

him. 

Mabel  was  grave  stilL 

kt  There  is  something  weirdly  oppressive  in  the  night.* 
she  said,  in  a  low,  awed  tone.  "  But  the  burden  you 
describe  has  weighed  me  down  since  morning.  While 
Rosa  was  singing,  I  felt  suddenly  removed  from  you  by 
a  horrid  gulf.  What  if  all  this  should  be  the  prepara 
tion  to  iia  for  some  impending  danger?  " 

"  Sweet !  these  are  unwholesome  vapors  of  the  im 
agination.  Nothing  can  be  a  disaster  that  leaves  ns  to 
one  another,"  was  the  text  of  Frederic's  fond  soothing; 
and  by  the  time  Mrs.  Sutton  descended  from  her  cham 
ber  of  meditation,  to  remind  Imogene  that  the  seeds  of 
ague  and  fever  lurked  in  the  river-fogs,  the  couple 
from  the  piazza  came  into  the  lighted  parlor,  all  smile* 
and  animation,  wondering,  jocosely,  what  had  become 
of  the  recent  occupants  of  the  apartment. 

Neither  reappeared  until  breakfast-time  next  morn 
ing.  Rosa  was  like  freshly-poured  champagne,  in  sweet 
and  sparkle.  Alfred,  rueful  and  limp,  as  if  the  drip 
ping  clouds  that  veri&ed  Mabel's  prediction  had  soaked 
Mm  all  night.  He  was  dry  and  comfortable —  to  carry 
out  the  figure  —  within  twenty  minutes  after  his  be 
ta  ved  fluttered,  like  a  tame  canary,  into  the  chair  next 
his  own  —  in  five  more,  was  more  truly  her  slave,  liv 
ing  in,  and  upon  her  smiles — adoring  her  very  caprices 
as  he  had  never  admired  another  woman's  virtues — thaa 


58  UyWBOLSaOMS  VAPOSb. 


he  had  been  prior  to  the  brief,  I  at  tempest  aoufi  scene 
over  night.  She  was  the  life  of  the  party  assembled 
in  the  dining-room.  Imogc^e  had  caught  cold,  walk 
ing  bareheaded  in  the  evening  air,  and  Tom  condoled 
with  her  upon  her  influenza  and  sore-throat  too  sin 
cerely  to  do  justice  to  the  rest  of  his  friends  and  hii 
breakfast.  Mr.  Aylett  was  never  talkative,  and  his  un 
varying,  soulless  politeness  to  all  produced  the  conserv- 
ng  effect  upon  chill  and  low  spirits  that  the  atmosphere 
jf  a  refrigerator  does  upon  whatever  is  placed  within 
it  Mrs.  Button's  motherly  heart  was  yearning  pity 
ingly  over  the  lovers  who  were  soon  to  be  sundered, 
while  Mabel's  essay  at  cheerful  equanimity  imposed 
apon  nobody's  credulity.  Frederic  comported  himself 
like  a  man  —  the  more  courageously  because  the  host's 
cold  eye  was  upon  him,  and  he  surmised  that  sighs  and 
sentimentality  would  meet  very  scant  indulgence  in 
that  quarter.  Moreover,  he  was  not  so  unreasonable  as 
to  descry  insupportable  hardships  in  this  parting.  By 
agreement  with  Mr.  Aylett  and  his  sister,  he  was,  if  all 
went  prosperously,  to  revisit  Ridgeley  at  the  end  of  six 
wee^s,  when  his  design  was  to  entreat  his  betrothed  to 
name  the  wedding  day.  The  prospect  might  well  sup 
port  him  under  the  present  trial.  He  bore  Rosa's  bad 
inage  gallantly,  tossing  back  sprightly  and  telling  re 
joinders  that  called  forth  the  smiling  applause  of  the 
auditors,  and  commanded  her  respectful  recognition  <»f 
him  as  a  f  oeman  worthy  of  her  steeL 


UNWHOLESOME  VAPOJS&  5f 

"  Nine  o'clock,"  said  Winston,  at  length,  consulting 
his  watch,  and  pushing  back  his  chair.  "  Tie  carriage 
will  be  at  the  door  in  fifteen  minutes,  Mi.  Chilton. 
The  road  is  heavy  this  morning,  and  the  stage  passes 
the  village  at  ten." 

"  I  shall  be  ready,"  responded  Frederic.  "  I  am  sorry 
four  carriage  and  coachman  must  be  exposed  to  the 


rain." 


"  That  is  nothing.  They  are  u»ed  to  it.  I  never  al 
ter  my  plan  of  travel  on  account  of  the  weather,  how 
ever  severe  the  storm.  This  warm  rain  can  hurt 
nobody." 

"  It  is  pouring  hard,"  remarked  Mrs.  Button,  solicit 
ously.  4i  And  that  stage  is  wretchedly  uncomfortable 
in  the  best  weather.  I  wish  you  could  be  persuaded 
to  stay  with  us  until  it  clears  off,  Mr.  Chilton,  and" — 
making  a  bold  push  —  "I  am  sure  my  nephew  concurs 
in  my  desire." 

"  Mr.  Chiltoii  should  require  no  verbal  assurance  ol 
my  hospitable  feelings  toward  him  and  my  other 
guests,"  said  Mr.  Aylett,  frigidly — smooth  as  ice-cream. 
u  If  I  forbear  to  press  him  to  prolong  his  stay,  it  is  in 
recollection  of  the  golden  law  laid  down  for  the  direc 
tion  of  hosts — l  Welcome  the  coming,  speed  the  part 
ing  guest.' " 

"  7ou  are  both  very  kind,  but  I  must  go,*'  Frederic 
replied,  concisely  and  civilly,  following  Mabel  into  the 
j>arlor,  whither  the  other  visitors  were  fabled  to  have  te- 


60  CWWXOLX80XS  VAPOS& 

paired.  As  he  had  guessed,  his  betrothed  was  the  only 
person  there;  the  quartette  having  dispersed  with  kindly 
tact,  for  which  he  gave  then)  due  credit 

"  Don't  think  hardly  of  ine,  dear,"  he  began,  seating 
himself  beside  her  on  the  sofa. 

"  Allow  me  to  offer  you  a  few  of  the  finest  cigars  1 
have  enjoyed  for  many  years,"  said  Mr.  Aylett,  enter 
ing  in  season  to  check  Frederic's  movement  to  encircle 
Mabel's  drooping  form  with  his  arm.  "  You  smoke,  I 
believe  ?  You  may  have  an  opportunity  of  indulging 
in  this  solace  in  an  empty  stage.  At  least,  there  is  lit 
tle  probability  that  you  will  be  denied  the  luxury  by 
the  presence  of  lady  passengers.  I  procured  those  in 
Havana,  last  winter.  In  case  you  should  like  them 
well  enough  to  order  some  for  yourself,  I  will  give  you 
the  address  of  the  merchant  from  whom  I  purchased 
them." 

He  wrote  a  line  upon  a  card,  as  he  might  sign  a  beg 
gar's  petition  —  with  a  supercilious  parade  of  benevc 
lence  —  and  passed  it  to  the  other,  who  accepted  i* 
with  a  phrase  of  acknowledgment  neither  hearty  nor 
grateful.  Then  the  master  of  the  nouse  paced  the 
floor  with  a  slow,  regular  step,  his  hands  behind  him ; 
his  countenance  placidly  ruminative,  his  thought*  ap* 
pareritly  engaged  with  anything  rather  than  the  pail 
upon  the  corner-sofa,  whose  leave-taking  he  had  mer 
cilessly  marred.  Frederic  dumb  and  furious ;  Mabel 
equally  dumb  and  amazed  to  alarm,  knowing  as  eh* 


VAPORS. 


did  that  her  brother's  actions  were  never  purposelesa, 
tat  still,  their  hands  clasped  stealthily  amid  the  folds  of 
Mabel's  dress  ;  their  eyes  saying  the  dear  and  passion 
ate  things  forbidden  to  their  tongues.  Neither  would 
feign  indifference,  or  attempt  a  lame  dialogue  upon 
other  topics  than  those  that  filled  their  minds.  Mr. 
Aylett  was  not  one  to  pay  outward  heed  to  hints  when 
he  chose  to  ignore  them.  He  kept  up  his  walk  until 
the  carriage  was  driven  around  to  the  front  door,  in 
formed  the  parting  guest  that  it  awaited  his  commands, 
likewise  that  he  would  need  all  the  time  that  remained 
to  him  if  he  hoped  to  catch  the  stage  ;  without  leaving 
the  room,  called  to  a  servant  to  bring  down  Mr.  Chil 
ton's  baggage,  and  did  not  lo*e  sight  of  his  sister's 
Zover  until  the  last  farewell  was  said,  and  Frederic  be 
stowed  inside  the  vehicle.  There  was  nothing  offen 
sively  officious  or  malicious  in  all  this.  Having  declared 
as  an  incontrovertible  dogma,  that  a  ward  could  f  orn* 
no  engagement  without  the  formal  sanction  of  her  le 
gal  guardian,  he  saw  fit  to  put  the  seal  upon  the  decis 
ion  at  this,  their  adieu,  in  a  manner  they  were  not  likely 
to  forget.  An  hour's  harangue  would  not  have  imbued 
them  with  the  sense  of  hig  authority,  his  determination 
to  exercise  it,  and  th«ir  impotency  to  resist  it,  as  did 
this  practical  lesson* 

Mrs.  Suttcn  could  scarcely  restrain  her  tearful  re 
monstrances  againat  what  was,  to  her  p*rc»*Mion,  as 


62  UNWHOLESOME   FJPOK& 

act  of  arbitrary  and  wanton  cruelty,  and  other  specta 
tors  had  their  views  upon  the  subject 

"  Very  inconsiderate  in  Aylett !  I  wonder  how  1» 
would  like  the  same  game  to  be  played  upon  himself  I" 
/**. lamented  Alfred,  aside,  to  his  Dulcinea. 

Her  lip  curled  in  disdainful  amusement. 

"  As  if  he  had  ever  done  an  inconsiderate  thing 
since  he  put  off  long  clothes  !  There  is  method  in  ail 
this,  if  we  were  clever  enough  to  fathom  it." 

Within  herself,  she  determined  that  she  would  solve 
the  enigma  before  she  was  a  week  older. 

Frederic  cast  one  hasty,  eager  look  at  the  portico,  as 
the  carriage  turned  out  of  the  yard.  Mabel  stood  in 
the  foreground,  her  figure  framed  by  the  climbing 
roses  drooping  over  the  front  steps.  She  was  very  ale, 
and,  forgetful  for  the  moment  of  the  observation  of 
the  bystanders,  leaned  slightly  forward,  her  eyes  strained 
apon  the  carriage-window  —  one  hand  laid  upon  he/ 
heart,  the  other  resting  against  the  pillar  nearest  her, 
as  for  support.  She  waved  her  handkerchief,  in  re 
sponse  to  his  smile  and  lifted  hat,  and  simultaneously 
with  this  interchange  of  adieuT  her  brother  took  hei 
;>y  the  arm. 

"  You  are  getting  wet  there,  Mabel !  Come  into  the 
house  '  It  is  well  I  have  come  back  to  look  after  you  P 


OHAPTEK  IV. 

U  FOUNDED  UPON  A  BOCK." 

<g*3 

foTSf F  Mrs.  Sutton  had  raised  horrified  eyes  and  de^ 

'^  M 

i    spairing  hands  upon  learning  the  date  of  her 
nephew's  proposed  marriage,  it  was  because  she 


\s>  miscalculated  his  executive  abilities,  and  the  en 
ergy  she  had  never  until  now  seen  fairly  put  forth. 
W  ithin  three  days  after  his  return,  the  homestead  was 
*live  with  masons,  carpenters,  painters,  and  upholster - 
are,  engaged  by  the  prompt  bridegroom  on  his  passage 
through  Kichmond ;  and  so  explicit  were  his  orders  as 
to  the  minutest  detail  of  the  work  appointed  to  each, 
that  he  could  safeV  leave  the  scene  of  action  at  the 
time  appointed  for  the  flying  trio  northward,  to  which 
he  had  referred  in  his  dialogue  with  Mabel  on  the 
afternoon  of  his  arrival. 

The  party  of  visitors  had  emigrated  to  other  regions. 
a  couple  of  days  after  Frederic  Chilton's  departure, 
with  the  exception  of  Rosa  Tazewell,  who  accepted 
Mabel's  invitation  to  prolong  her  sojourn,  the  moie 
willingly  since  she  "  flattered  herscif  *h«  could  be  of 


M  -  FOUNDED  UPON  A  ROW 

use  in  the  general  upheaving  of  the  ancient  found* 
tions,  and  establishment  of  the  new.  If  there  was 
one  thing  she  enjoyed  above  another,  it  was  a  tremea 
£ous  bustle  — a  lively  revolution." 

She  made  her  boast  of  personal  utility  good  by  in 
stalling  herself  forthwith  as  Mrs.  Button's  aid-de-camp, 
and  rendering  herself  so  far  indispensable  in  the  work 
of  reconstruction  that  Mr.  Aylett  deigned  to  ask  her 
aot  to  desert  her  post  in  his  absence. 

"  Yours  is  the  genius  of  renovation,  Miss  Bosa,"  the 
potentate  was  pleased  to  say  in  his  handsomest  style. 
"  Do  not,  I  beg  of  you,  forsake  my  aunt  and  sister  in 
their  need.  Let  me  feel  that  I  leave  one  head  as  th« 
motive-power  of  the  multitudinous  hands." 

She  agreed,  in  the  same  strain,  to  oblige  him — a 
decision  greeted  with  satisfaction  by  the  pair  in  whos* 
behalf  he  besought  her  friendly  offices.  The  versatile 
invention  and  deft  fingers  of  the  little  brunette  were 
welcome  to  the  heavily-taxed  housekeeper,  as  were  her 
gay  good-humor  and  words  of  cheer  and  affection  kr 
'he  younger  of  her  companions.  The  two  girls  became 
Kiore  confidential  in  tax.  days  than  eighteen  years  of 
neighborly  intercoune  had  sufficed  to  make  them. 
Mabel's  innate  delicacy  and  excellent  common  sense 
would,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  have  barred  effusive 
ness  upon  the  theme  nearest  her  heart,  but  love  at 
nineteen  is  rarely  discreet,  even  when  the  persuasive! 
to  communicati^ene«fl  are  lose  powerful  than  were 


A  HQCX* 


the  sorcery  of  Rosa's  sympathy  and  the  confession! 
that  paved  the  way  to  answering  and  trustful  com 
municativeness  on  her  friend's  part 

They  were  having  what  she  called  "a  good,  long 
comforting,  as  well  as  comfortable  chat"  over  theii 
sewing  in  Mabel's  chamber  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
eighth  day  of  Winston's  absence.  The  weather  waa 
lovely,  with  the  mellow  brightness  and  balmy  airs  that 
make  Virginian  antumns  a  joy  and  glory  nntil  Novem 
ber  is  half  spent,  and  the  atmosphere  held,  at  sunset, 
the  warmth  and  much  of  the  radiance  which  had  set 
the  day  —  a  perfect  gem  —  in  the  heart  of  the  golden 
month.  Into  the  eastern  windows  gazed  the  full  moon, 
a  crimson  globe  upon  the  hazy  horizon,  while  Venua 
lay,  large  and  tremulous,  among  the  dying  fires  of  thu 
west. 

"  i  Lovers  love  the  western  star,'  "  quoted  Kosa,  mer 
rily,  taking  Mabel's  work  from  her  and  throwing  it 
upon  the  bed.  "  Come  and  enjoy  the  holy  hour  with 
me." 

They  leaned  together  upon  the  window-sill,  their 
young  faces  tinted  by  the  changeful  hues  of  the  sky, 
both  thoughtful  and  mute,  until  Rosa  broke  the 
silence  by  a  ^ary  sigh. 

"O  Mabel,  you  should  be  a  happy,  happy  girl; 
blessed  among  women.  Yon  can  lore  —  freely  and 
joyously  —  and  have  pride  and  faith  in  the  one  be 


66  "FOUZTDBD  UPON  A  JBOGJC" 

4<  As  you  will  some  day,"  rejoined  the  ether,  draw 
ing  nearer  to  her,  "when  you,  in  your  turn,  shall 
know  the  unspeakable  sweetness  of  unquestioning 
faith — of  utter  dependence  L.pon  him  to  whom  TOO 
have  given  your  heart" 

«  Utter  dependence  I "  echoed  Eosa.  "  That  would 
mean  utter  wreck  of  heart,  hope  —  everything  — should 
the  anchor  give  way.  It  is  a  hazardous  experiment, 
ma  belle  I " 

The  other  looked  down  at  her  with  simple  f  earless- 
ices. 

u  <For  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock !'"  she  repeated 
softly ;  yet  the  exultant  ring  of  her  accent  vibrated 
upon  the  ear  like  a  joyous  challenge. 

Rosa's  fretful  movement  was  involuntary. 

"  Mine  would  drag  in  the  sand  at  every  turn  of  the 
tide,  every  rise  of  the  wind,  if  I  were  to  follow  your 
advice,  and  say  '  yes '  to  the  pertinacious  Alfred,"  she 
said  reproachfully. 

"  Don't  say  advice,  dear ! "  corrected  the  other.  "  i 
Dnly  endeavored  to  convince  you  that  there  must  be  1* 
tent  tenderness  beneath  your  sufferance  of  Mr.  Branch  * 
devotion ;  that  if  you  really  were  averse  to  the 
thought  of  marrying  him,  you  could  not  take  pleasure 
in  his  society  or  enjoy  the  marks  of  his  attachment 
which  are  apparent  to  you  and  to  everybody  else." 

"  Can't  you  understand,"  said  the  beauty,  petulantly, 
*  that  it  is  one  thing  to  flirt  with  a  man  in  public,  and 


«7 


another  to  cherish  his  image  in  private  f  Theie  is  no 
better  touchstone  of  affection  than  the  Holiness  and 
calm  of  an  honr  lite  this.  If  Frederic  were  with 
yon,  the  scene  would  be  the  fairer,  the  season  more 
sacred  for  its  association  with  thoughts  of  him  and  hin 
love.  Whereas,  my  Alfred's  adoring  platitudes  would 
disgust  me  with  the  sunset,  with  the  world,  and  with 
myself,  for  permitting  him  to  haunt  my  presence  and 
hang  upon  my  smile  —  foppish  barnacle  that  he  is  1  If 
ron  knew  how  I  despise  myself  sometimes  !  " 

"  Dear  Rosa  !  I  shall  never  try  again  to  persuade 
that  you  care  for  him  as  a  woman  should  for  the  man 
GOD  intended  her  to  marry.  But  why  not  act  worthily 
of  yourself  —  justly  to  him,  and  reject  him  decid 
edly?" 

"  Because  "  —  her  face  shrewd  and  wilful  as  it  had 
been  sorrowful  just  now  —  "I  am  by  no  means  certain 
that  I  can  do  better  than  to  marry  him.  He  is  rich, 
good-looking  (so  people  say  !),  well-born,  gentlemanly. 
and  pleasant  of  temper.  An  imposing  array  of  ad  van 
tages,  you  see  !  I  might  go  further,  and  fare  very  much 
wor&s.  We  shall  not  expect  to  pass  our  days  in  gazing 
at  eunsete  and  walking  in  the  moonlight,  you  know. 
It  is  not  every  woman  who  can  marry  the  man  ehe 
iores  best.  While  the  right  to  select  and  to  woo  it 
osurped  by  the  masculine  portion  of  the  community,  it 
must,  perforce,  be  Hobson's  choice  with  an  uncounta 
ble  majority  of  femininea.  1  ahould  not  complain 


88  VQUN&SID  UPON  A  BOOK.1' 

The  stall  allotted  to  me  bj  Hobson  —  alas  Fate  — 
might  hold  a  worse-conditioned  animal  than  my  WOT* 
shipping  swain." 

"  What  a  wicked  rattle  you  are ! "  Mabel  said,  affect 
ing  to  box  her  ears.  u  I  could  not  lore  yon  if  I  be 
lieved  you  to  be  in  earnest.  As  to  your  figure  of  the 
Btabled  steed  —  this  disapproving  customer  has  the 
consolation  that  she  need  not  accept  him,  unless  she 
wishes  to  do  so.  She  has  the  invaluable  privilege  of 
saying  4  no'  as  often  and  obstinately  as  she  pleases." 

"  I  deny  it,"  said  Ttoea,  perversely.  "  Parents,  in  this 
age,  do  not  make  a  custom  of  locking  up  refractory 
daughters  in  nunneries  or  garrets  until  they  consent  to 
wed  Baron  Buncombe  or  my  Lord  Nozoo,  but  there 
are,  nevertheless,  compulsory  marriages  in  plenty. 
Society  warns  me  to  make  a  creditable  match,  upon 
penalty,  if  1  decline,  of  being  pointed  out  to  the  suc 
ceeding  —  and  a  fast-succeeding  generation  it  is !  as  a 
disappointed  old  maid  —  a  pass^e  belle,  who  squan 
dered  her  capital  of  fascinations,  and  has  become  i* 
pauper  upon  public  toleration,  while  my  mother,  sisters, 
and  brothers  are  growing  impatient  at  my  many  and 
profitless  flirtations,  and  anxious  to  see  me  '  settled.' 
My  mother's  pet  text,  since  I  was  sixteen,  has  been  her 
prayerful  desire  that  I,  the  last  of  her  nestlings,  should 
m*ke  choice  of  a  tenable  bough  and  helpful  partner, 
and  set  up  a  separate  establishment  before  she  dies. 
When  that  event  occurs,  I  shall  be,  in  effect,  homeless 


"FOUNDS®    JTOJT  A 


'-  a  boarder  around  upon  my  rebukeful  relatives,  who 
1  always  thought  how  my  trifling  would  end,'  and  wbo 
will  be  forever  scribbling  '  vanitas  vanitatum?  upon 
the  tombstone  of  my  departed  youth  —  my  day  of 
beaux  and  offers.  You  may  shake  your  head  aad  look 
heroic  with  all  your  might!  You  are  no  better  off 
than  I,  should  your  brother  see  cause  to  refuse  his  con 
sent  to  your  marriage  with  Mr.  Chilton.  He  could, 
and  probably  would,  coerce  you  into  another  alliance 
before  you  were  twenty-one.  There  are  so  many  ways 
«*£  letting  the  life  out  of  a  woman's  heart,  when  it  is 
already  faint  from  disappointment  I  The  spirit  is 
oftener  broken  by  unyielding,  but  not  seemingly  cruel 
pressure,  than  by  outrageous  violence.  And  Winston 
would  show  himself  an  adept  in  such  arts,  if  occasion 
otfered." 

u  Kosa  Tazewell  I  you  are  speaking  of  my  brother, 
my  friend  and  benefactor!  one  of  the  best,  noblest, 
most  disinterested  creatures  Heaven  ever  made  I  "  cried 
Mabel,  erect  and  indignant.  "You  have  no  warrant 
—  1  shall  never  give  you  the  right  —  to  asperse  him  in 
my  presence.  He  is  incapable  of  cruelty  or  unfair 
ness.  It  is  my  duty  to  obey  him,  but  it  is  no  less  a 
pleasure,  for  he  is  a  hundred-fold  wiser  and  better  than 
I  am  —  knows  far  more  truly  what  is  for  my  real  ad- 
*antage.  As  to  his  conduct  in  this  affair  of  Frederic 
and  myself,  you  cannot  deny  that  it  baa  been  generous 


70  "FOUNDS!*  UPON  A  ROOK* 

and  consistent  throughout.    He  has  been  nations  — 
never  harsh  1 " 

1  So!"  said  Rosa,  scrutinizing  the  flnnhed  counte 
nance  of  the  other,  her  own  full  of  intense  meaning, 
c<  you  ha/ve  had  your  misgivings  I " 

Mabel  reddened  more  warmly. 

"  Misgivings !    What  do  you  mean  I " 

"  That  the  uncalled-for  vehemence  of  your  defence 
is  a  proof  of  disturbed  confidence,  of  wanting  belief  ir 
the  infallibility  of  your  semi-deity.  The  trailing  robee 
of  divinity  have  been  blown  aside  by  a  chance  breath 
of  suspicion,  and  you  had  a  glimpse  of  the  clay  feet 
I  am  glad  of  it.  Scepticism  is  the  parent  of  rebellion, 
and  the  time  is  coming  when  fealty  to  your  betrothed 
may  demand  disloyalty  to  the  power  that  now  is." 

Mabel's  smile  was  meant  to  be  careless,  but  it  wat 
only  uneasy,  and  gave  the  lie  direct  to  her  assevera 
tion. 

"  I  have  no  apprehensions  of  such  a  conflict.     Win 
atom's  word  is  as  good  as  another  man's  oath.     It  i& 
|  lodged  to  my  marriage  with  Frederic  Chilton,  in  the 
event  of  the  prosperous  issue  of  his  inquiries  into  his 
Frederic's,  character  and  prospects.     That  these  will  be 
answered  favorably,  I  have  the  word  of  another,  who  ii 
every  whit  as  trustworthy.    Where  is  there  room  lot 
.loubt?" 

Tb«  hinnette  shook  her  head  —  unconvinced. 


"FOUNDED  UPON  A  BOOK"  71 

"  Have  your  own  way  !  I  can  afford  to  abide  tht 
ihowing  of  the  logic  of  events." 

"And  II"  retorted  Mabel,  hastily,  tinning  from 
her,  without  attempting  to  dissemble  her  chagrin,  to 
answer  a  knock  at  the  door. 

It  was  a  servant,  with  two  letters.  The  annoyance 
passed  from  her  brow,  like  the  sheerest  mist,  as  she 
read  the  superscriptions  —  one  in  her  brother's  hand 
writing,  the  other  in  Frederic's. 

Rosa  interfered  to  prevent  the  breaking  of  the 
seals. 

"  I  am  going  to  leave  yon  to  the  undisturbed  enjoy 
ment  of  your  feast,"  she  said,  in  her  most  winsome 
manner.  "  But  —  won't  it  taste  the  sweeter  if  your 
antepast  is  the  delight  of  forgiveness  ?  Say  you  are 
not  angry  with  me  —  mia  cara  !  " 

"  You  are  a  ridiculous  child  !  "  Mabel  bent  to  kiss 
the  pleading  lips,  then  the  great,  melting  eyes.  "  Who 
could  be  out  of  temper  with  you  for  half  a  minute  at  a 
time  ?  You  did  try  my  patience  with  your  nonsense, 
but  since  it  was  nonsense,  I  have  forgotten  it  all,  and 
love  you  none  the  less  for  your  prankish  humor  —  yon 


"  She  calls  my  prophe  des  humbug  —  turns  a  deaf  eai 
to  my  warnings  1  "  cried  the  incorrigible  rattle,  clasp 
ing  her  hands  above  her  head  and  rolling  her  eyes 
tragically.  "I  have  a  lively  appreciation,  at  this  5n 


T2 


itant,  of  Cassandra's  agonies  whan  Troilna  named  kflr 
'  our  mad  water!'  — 


•WMl  wwt 
Lot  w  pay  tatfcM 

Of  tfeftt 


Laughing  anew  at  her  frantic  rush  frcm  the  cham 
ber,  Mabel  sat  down  in  the  broad  window-seat  to  read 
her  love-letter. 

Frederic  was  too  manly  in  feeling  and  habit  of 
a^eech  to  deal  in  florid  rhapsodies,  but  each  line  had 
its  message  from  hi*  heart  to  hers.  He  loved  her 
purely  and  in  truth,  and  there  was  not  a  sentence  that 
did  not  tell  her  this,  by  inference,  if  not  directly.  He 
trusted  her  —  and  this,  too,  he  told  her,  more  as  a  hus 
band  might  the  wife  of  years  than  a  lover  of  her  he 
a»d  won  so  lately.  Their  hopea  were  the  same  and 
their  lives,  and  she  dwelt  longest  upon  the  sketched 
pians  for  the  future  of  these.  It  brought  hi™  closer  to 
her  than  anything  else  —  put  her  secret  and  reluctant 
imaginations  of  evil,  and  Rosa's  daring  insinuations, 
out  of  sight  and  recollection.  She  read  slowly,  and 
with  frequent  pauses,  that  she  might  take  in  the  ex 
quisite  flavor  of  this  and  that  phrase  of  endearment; 
§et  before  herself  in  beauty  and  distinctness  ""he  scene* 
he  portrayed  as  the  adornment  of  the  prospect  which 
was  theirs. 

The  second  and  yet  more  deliberate  perusal  over,  aha 
folded  the  sheet  with  lingering  touches  to  every  cor 


••  POUNDEL   JPOJf  A  &OCX+"  78 

ner  •  thrust  it  into  the  envelope,  and  drew  it  forth 
again  to  peep  once  more  at  the  signature  —  "  Forever 
and  truly,  your  own  Frederic  ;  "  pressed  it  to  her  lipa, 
then  to  her  heart,  and  bestowed  it  securely  in  her  writ 
ing-desk,  before  ihe  unclosed  .ler  brother's  epistle. 

With  her  finger  upon  the  seal  —  a  big  drop  of  red 
wax,  like  a  petrified  blood-gout,  stamped  with  *he 
Aylett  coat-of-arms  —  she  leaned  through  the  casement 
to  watch  for  the  flutter  of  Rosa's  white  dress  among 
the  van-colored  maples  shading  the  lawn  —  sang  a 
t^ear,  sweet  second  to  the  song  that  ascended  to  her 
ef  rie  : 


Wmy  weep  ye  tj  th«  tide  ? 
m  wed  y*  to  my  yooagert  ma, 

Amd  j*  Miudl  be  hi.  brUa. 
As4  jt  shall  be  hit  bride,  Udye, 

BM  outnaly  to  t*  seen  ; 
Bert  »y«  tl»  loot  the  tmn  tew*  fe* 

f«r  J«ok  •>  Ha0U0M.n 

"  MY  DEAR  MABEL  "  [wrote  the  lord  of  Ridgeley]  — 
*  I  wish  you,  so  soon  as  you  receive  this,  to  communicate 
with  Jenkyns  and  Smythe  concerning  the  new  parlor 
furniture  I  ordered  from  them.  In  talking  it  over, 
Clara  and  I  have  decided  that  it  had  better  be  covered 
with  maroon,  instead  of  green,  as  you  advised.  I  en 
close  a  sample  of  damask  which  they  must  match  ex 
actly.  I  would  write  direct  to  them,  but  think  it  likely 
that  Jenkyns,  the  managing  man  of  the  firm,  is  in  your 
neighborhood  at  this  time-  He  told  me,  when  I  wai 
in  town,  of  his  intention  to  visit  Mrs.  Wilson,  his  nater, 


H  "FOUNDED  UPON  A  JKXHC" 

I  believe,  who  lives  on  the  White  Oak  read,  about 
three  miles  from  Ridgeley.  Send  for  him,  and  put  the 
samples  into  his  hands.  If  he  cannot  get  the  precise 
color  in  Richmond,  let  him  order  it  from  New  York 

"  The  carpets  for  the  parlor,  dining-room,  and  Clara  s 
chamber  I  have  bought  in  Lowell.  Clara  accompanied 
tne  thither,  and  gave  me  the  benefit  of  her  taste  in  the 
selection.  I  have  resolved,  also,  to  purchase  wall 
paper  in  Boston  to  match  these.  Say  as  much  to 
Jenkyns.  I  shall  have  the  boxes  directed  to  his  care 
and  instruct  him  further  respecting  making  the  car 
pets  and  hanging  the  paper  when  I  return. 

"  Ask  Roberts  (the  mason)  whether  it  will  be  practi 
cable  to  build  a  fire-place  in  the  large  lower  hall 
Another  chimney  would  be  an  unsightly  appendage  to 
the  roof,  but  Clara  agrees  with  me,  since  studying  the 
plan  of  the  house  I  brought  on  for  her  inspection,  that 
a  nue  could  be  run  through  the  closet  in  your  room 
into  the  rear  one  of  the  west  chimneys.  She  thinke 
the  ball  must  be  freezing  cold  in  winter,  and  caugk* 
eagerly  at  my  idea  that  a  blazing  fire  at  one  end 
would  lighten  the  sombre  effect  of  the  oaken  wainscot 
and  lofty  ceiling.  I  proposed  to  tear  down  the  pan 
elling,  but  she  was  horrified  at  the  thought.  I  could 
not  take  more  pride  and  interest  in  preserving  the 
antique  character  of  the  home  of  my  forefathers  than 
does  she.  She  will  have  it  that  the  hall,  thus  improved, 
and  hung  with  a  few  old  pictures,  some  bits  of  ancient 


UPON  A  BOOK.9  75 


armor,  and  carpeted  with  marooL  and  green,  will  be 
truly  baronial.  You  and  she  will  agree  admirably  in 
your  enthusiastic  love  of  the  venerable,  and  in  yom 
aesthetic  tastes.  I  congratulate  myself  hourly  upon  my 
good  fortune  in  securing  such  a  companion  for  myself, 
and  such  an  instructress  for  yourself.  You  cannot  fail 
U  derive  infinite  benefit  from  intercourse  with  her. 

"  This  brings  me  to  another  subject  to  which  I  desire 
to  call  your  immediate  attention.  I  wish  her  to  select 
a  couple  of  dresses  suitable  for  your  wear  on  the  night 
of  our  reception-party,  and  at  others  which  will,  un 
doubtedly,  be  given  in  our  honor.  She  objects  to  do 
ing  this  unless  I  obtain  from  you  a  written  request 
that  she  should  thus  aid  me.  She  fears  you  may  con 
sider  her  action  '  premature  and  officious.'  Write  to 
her  at  once,  requesting  her  to  do  this  sisterly  favor  foi 
you,  setting  forth  your  distance  from  the  city,  the  mea 
gre  assortment  of  the  goods  to  be  had  in  the  Richmond 
stores,  etc.,  and  giving  her  carte  blanche  as  to  cost  and 
st  yle.  It  will  be  an  inestimable  advantage  to  your  ap 
pearance  on  the  occasions  named  should  she  oblige  you 
in  this  particular.  I  earnestly  desire  that  you  should 
.ook  your  best  at  your  introduction  to  her." 

"  *  Maroon  and  green  I  J  a  '  baronial  '  hall,  and  new 
party  dresses  for  insignificant  me!"  Mabel  stopped  to 
aay  aloud  in  great  amusement  "  What  would  my  sage 
brother  have  paid  to  such  paltry  memoranda  sK  monthi 


76  "FOUNDED   UPON  A  &OCX.* 

ago  f    He  is  an  apt  scholar,  or  he  has  an  able  teacher. 
Ah,  well  1  love  is  a  marvellous  transmogrifier  I " 

"With  this  apothegm  from  the  storehouse  of  her  late 
ly  acquired  wisdom,  she  passed  to  the  next  paragraph 

"  Now  for  another  matter  about  which  I  meant  to 
write  to  you  yesterday,  but  I  was  prevented  by  our  ex 
pedition  to  Lowell.  The  evenings  I  of  course  devote 
to  Clara.  I  have  not  been  so  engrossed  by  my  own 
*ery  important  concerns  as  to  neglect  yours.  I  stopped 
a  day  in  Philadelphia,  illy  as  I  could  afford  the  time, 
to  make  such  investigations  as  I  could,  without  ex- 
siting  invidious  suspicion,  into  the  character  of  the  per 
son  whom  I  found  domesticated  at  Ridgeley  on  my  re- 
tarn  from  my  summer  tour.  The  information  I  picked 
np  in  that  cautious  city  was  go  meagre  and  tantalizing 
*6  to  provoke  me  into  the  belief  that  he  had  selected 
his  references  with  an  eye  to  the  slenderness  of  their 
knowledge  of  his  personal  history.  Accident,  however, 
has  since  placed  within  my  reach  a  means  of  learning 
all  that  I  wish  to  know.  Without  wearying  you  with 
explanations,  which,  indeed,  I  have  no  time  to  write  — 
being  engaged  to  drive  out  with  Clara  in  an  hour  from 
this  time  —  I  will  transcribe  a  portion  of  a  letter  re 
eeived  by  me,  two  days  since,  from  a  gentleman  of  un 
exceptional  standing,  and  upon  whose  word  you  aamy 
safely  depend. 

M  He  Myf :  '  In  n&j  t*  jour  qnerat  M  to  my  ic- 


FOUNDED   UfO9  A  SOC3L*  77 


quaintanoeship  with  one  Frederic  Chilton,  cow  • 
practising  lawyer  in  the  city  of  Phiadelphia,  I  would, 
if  conscience  permitted,  repay  your  frankness  by  ev» 
sion  of  a  disagreeable  truth.  But  in  the  circumirtan 
^es  which  induced  your  appeal,  I  have  no  option.  Hes 
itation  or  concealment  would  be  unkind  and  dishonor 
able.  I  knew  the  man  yon  speak  of  well  —  I  may  say 
intimately,  while  we  were  fellow-students  in  the  - 
law  school,  in  18  —  .  He  was  then  —  what  I  have  bu* 
too  much  reason  for  believing  him  at  this  day  —  r 
plausible,  unprincipled  man  of  pleasure.  Our  inter 
course,  which  commenced  at  the  card-table,  terminated 
with  a  severe  horsewhipping  I  administered  to  him  in 
punishment  of  an  offence  offered  a  married  lady  —  a 
relative  of  my  own.  Taking  advantage  of  the  pro 
tracted  absence  of  her  husband,  who  was  a  naval  officer, 
he  offered  her  many  attentions,  received  by  herself  aa 
tokens  of  innocent  and  friendly  regard,  until  he  forgot 
himself  so  far  as  to  make  her  open  and*  insulting  prtv 
posals,  even  urging  her  to  consent  to  an  elopement,  and 
threatening,  in  the  event  of  her  refusal,  to  ruin  her  by 
infamous  calumnies.  Her  father  was  infirm  ;  her  hus 
band  in  a  foreign  land.  His  base  persecution  would 
have  met  with  no  chastisement,  had  not  I  espoused  the 
terrified  woman's  cause  These  are  the  bare  facts  of 
the  case.  He  merited  a  flogging  —  as  ycu,  a  chivalric 
Virginian,  will  admit.  I  —  a  Northern  man,  with  cool 
er  blood,  but  I  h"pe,  as  true  a  sense  of  honor  and  right 


-FOUNDED  UPON  A  ROOK" 

as  y  >ur  own  —  inflicted  this,  as  I  am  prepared  to  teati 
fy  before  any  number  of  witnesses.' " 

[Mabel  was  reading  very  fast,  her  eyes  Lurrying  from 
side  to  side  of  the  page,  her  face  blanching,  and  he? 
hands  more  numb  with  every  word.] 

"  The  above  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  that  portion  of  my 
friend's  letter  which  pertains  to  your  affair,"  continued 
Mr.  Aylett.  "  I  shall  write  to  Mrs.  Button's  prottgt  by 
the  mail  that  carries  this,  informing  him  of  my  oppor 
tune  discovery,  through  no  instrumentality  of  his  pro 
viding,  of  the  poverty  of  his  claims  to  the  title  of  gen 
tleman,  and  the  audacity  of  his  pretensions  to  my  sister's 
hand.  Have  what  letters,  etc.,  you  have  received  from 
him  ready  packed  to  return  to  his  address  when  I  come 
home.  My  principal  regret,  in  the  review  of  the  un 
fortunate  entanglement,  is  that  he  ever  visited  Ridgeley 
and  was  known  in  the  vicinity  as  your  suitor.  You 
frill  suffer  from  this,  in  the  future,  moie  than  you  can 
now  suppose.  A  woman  hardly  ever  outlives  such  a 
stigma. 

"  You  may  expect  me  on  Thursday  next,  the  21gt,at 
which  time  I  hope  to  see  most  of  the  alterations  I  have 
ordered  in  an  encouraging  state  of  forwardness.  Should 
Jenkyns  be  in  town  when  you  get  thie,  write  out  my 
directions  clearly  and  in  full,  and  send  them,  with  iam- 
ple  of  damask,  by  mail. 

*  Your  affectionate  brother, 

ATUHT" 


"POUNDED   UPON  A  ROOK"  7f 

TUe  clammy,  nerveless  hands  dropped  —  the  fatal 
bheet  below  them  —  into  Mabel's  lap.  She  did  not 
cry  out  or  moan.  Things  sti^cken  to  the  heart  gener 
ally  fall  dumbly.  It  was  not  her  cramped  position 
within  the  windownseat  that  paralyzed  her  limbs,  nor 
the  chill  of  the  twilight  that  crept  through  vein  and 
;>one.  For  one  sick  second  she  believed  herself  to  be 
dying,  and  would  not  have  stirred  a  muscle  or  spoken 
a  syllable  to  save  the  life  which  had  suddenly  grown 
o  worthless  —  worthless,  since  she  was  never  to  see 
Frederic  again ;  be  no  more  to  him  than  if  she  had 
never  laid  her  head  upon  his  bosom;  never  felt  hii 
kisses  upon  lip  and  forehead ;  never  lived  npon  his 
vords  of  love  as  rapt  mortals,  admitted  in  trances  to 
the  banquet  of  the  gods,  eat  ambrosia,  and  drink  to  di- 
*  inest  ecstacy  of  nectar  —  the  elixir  of  immortal  life 
and  joy,  sparkling  in  golden  chalices. 

She  hai  had  her  dream  —  ravishing  and  brief  — 
Out  the  awakening  was  terrible  as  the  struggle  back  to 
life  from  a  swoon  or  deathful  lethargy.  As  to  think 
ing,  I  believe  nobody  thin  Ira  at  such  aeastns.  Nature 
»  brinks  in  speechless  horror  at  sight  of  the  descending 
weight,  and  when  it  has  fallen,  lies  motionless,  gasping 
;.n  breath  to  enable  her  to  support  the  intolerable  an 
guish,  not  speculating  how  to  avert  the  next  stroke. 
Frederic  and  she  were  parted !  Had  not  Winston  said 
nof  And  when  was  he  known  to  reverse  a  verd'ctf 


so  "poumEZ  vpojy  A  ROOK* 


She  had  nothing  to  do  but  git  still  and  let  the  irate  rt 
go  over  her  head. 

Rosa  was  seated  upon  the  upper  step  of  the  west 
porch,  her  chin  cradled  in  her  hand,  her  elbow  on  hei 
knee,  gazing  on  the  darkening  sky,  and  crooning  Scotch 
ballads  in  a  pensive,  dreamy  way.  Mabel,  from  her 
perch,  eyed  her  as  if  she  were  a  creature  belonging 
to  another  world  —  seen  dimly,  and  comprehended  yet 
more  imperfectly.  Yet  it  could  not  have  been  half  an 
hour  —  thirty  fleeting  minutes  —  since  the  two  had 
talked  as  dear  friends  out  of  the  fulness  of  their  hearts 
Where  were  the  hopes  and  happy  memories  that  had 
made  hers  then  a  garden  of  pleasant  things,  a  fruitful 
field  which  Heaven  had  blessed  ?  In  that  little  inch 
of  time,  the  flood  had  come  and  taken  them  all  away. 

Would  the  dry  aching  in  her  throat  and  chest  ever 
be  less?  Tears  had  gushed  freely  and  healthfully 
after  her  last  leave-taking  with  Frederic  —  the  lookeC 
farewell,  which  was  all  Winston's  surveillance  had 
granted  them.  She  had  been  wounded  then  by  her 
brother's  singular  want  of  tact  or  feeling.  She  had 
not  the  spirit  to  resent  anything  to-night,  unless  it  wem 
that  God  haa  made  and  suffered  to  live  a  being  so 
wretched  and  useless  as  herself.  She  supposed  it  waa 
wicked  —  but  she  did  not  care  !  She  ought  to  be  re 
signed  to  the  mysterious  dispensations  of  Providence 
—  that  was  the  prescribed  phraseology  of  pious  people. 
She  had  heard  the  cant  times  without  number.  What 


"FOUNDS?    UPON  A  BOCK*  81 

more  would  they  have  than  her  utter  destitution  of  love 
and  bliss  ?  Was  she  not  miserable  enough  to  satisfy 
the  sternest  believer  in  purgatorial  purification  ?  to  ap 
pease  the  wrath  even  of  Him  who  had  wrought  her 
desolation  ?  It  must  be  the  judgment  of  a  retributive 
Deity  upon  her  idolatrous  affection  that  she  was  bear 
ing  —  her  worship  of  Frederic.  Yes,  she  had  loved 
him ;  she  loved  him  now  better  than  she  did  anything 
else  upon  earth  —  better  than  she  did  anything  in 
Heaven. 

In  the  partial  insanity  of  her  woe  and  despair,  she 
lifted  her  gray  face  and  vacant  eyes  to  the  vast,  empty 
vault,  beyond  which  dwelt  her  Maker  afar  off,  and  said 
the  words  aloud  —  spat  them  at  Him  through  hard, 
ashy  lips. 

"  I  love  him  1  I  love  hinrr  I  You  have  taken  him 
from  me  —  but  I  will  love  him  for  all  that ! " 

Heaven  —  or  Fate  —  her  blasphemous  mood  did 
not  distinguish  the  one  from  the  other  —  was  a  robber 
Her  brother  was  pitiless  as  the  death  that  would  not 
answer  to  her  calL  Between  them  she  was  bereaved. 

It  was  but  a  touch  —  the  lightest  breath  of  natural 
feeling  that  broke  up  the  hot  crust,  that  shut  down  the 
fountain  of  tears — Rosa's  voice,  tuneful  *ind  sad  as  a 
nightingale's,  chanting  the  border-lays  she  loved  &c 
well: 

"  When  I  ga«  oat  at  «'m. 

Or  walk  at  morning  air, 

Ilk  nutling  brasb  wfD  worn  to  my 

I  mmd  to  ow 

4* 


POUNDED   VPON  A 


Then  TT1  «!  t  dwrm  and  017, 
And  lire  Mmth  the  two. 
And  when  »  lewf  f»U*  in  my  tep, 
ni  otf  it «  word  from  thaa" 


81ie  had  snog  it  herself  to  Frederic  the  night  befon 
he  left  her,  and  as  she  nnished  the  artlees  ballad,  h* 
tcxik  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her. 

As  he  would  never  do  again ! 

"  My  darling !  my  darling ! "  she  cried  aloud. 

Then  the  grief -drops  came  in  a  flood. 


CHAPTER  V. 

GLBAN  HAND8. 

servant  who  summoned  Mabel  to 
brought  down  word  that  she  was  not  feeling 
well,  and  did  not  wish  any. 

"  Not  well  I  Bless  me  1 "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Snt- 
ton,  starting  up.  "  Rosa,  love,  excuse  me  for  three  sec 
onds,  please.  I  must  see  what  is  the  matter.  I  do 

hope  there  is  no  bad  news  from "  (arrested  by 

the  recollection  that  there  were  servants  in  the  room, 
she  substituted  for  the  name  upon  her  lipe)  —  "in  her 
letters." 

"  I  don't  think  she'i  much  sick  ma'am,"  said  the 
maid.  "  She  is  a-settin'  in  the  window." 

"Where  I  left  her  with  her  letters,  an  hour  and 
more  ago,"  observed  Rosa.  "  Don't  Larry  back  if  she 
needs  you,  Aunt  Rachel  I  will  make  myself  at 
home ;  shall  not  mind  eating  alone  for  once." 

Notwithstanding  the  array  of  dainties  before  her, 
she  only  nibbled  the  edge  of  a  cream  biscuit  with  her 
little  white  teeth,  and  crumbled  the  rest  of  it  upo»  bef 


81  CUEAff 


plate  in  listlessness  or  profound  and  active  leverie. 
while  the  hostess  was  away.  She,  toe,  had  her  conjee/- 
tures  and  her  anxieties  —  a  knotty  problem  to  work 
out,  and  the  longer  she  pondered  the  more  confident 
was  she  that  she  had  grasped  at  least  one  filament  of 
die  clue  leading  to  elucidation. 

Mabel  had  not  stirred  from  her  place  —  sat  yet 
with  her  brother's  letter  in  her  lap,  her  hands  lying 
heavily  upon  it,  although  her  muslin  dress  was  ghostly 
in  the  stream  of  moonlight  flowing  across  the  cham 
ber.  She  had  wept  her  eyes  dry,  and  her  voice  wa& 
monotonous,  but  unfaltering. 

u  I  am  not  really  sick,  aunt,  but  I  have  no  appetite, 
and  having  a  great  deal  to  think  of,  I  preferred  stay 
ing  here  to  going  to  the  table,"  was  her  answer  to  Mrs 
Button's  inquiries. 

"  Your  hands  are  cold  and  lifeless  as  clay,  my  child. 
What  is  the  matter  ?  It  is  not  like  you  to  be  moping 
up  here,  alone  in  the  dark." 

"Won't  you  lea-re  me  to  myself  for  a  while,  and 
keep  Rosa  down-stairs  ?  "  asked  Mabel,  more  patiently 
than  peevishly.  "  Before  bed-time  I  will  see  you  in 
your  room,  and  we  can  talk  of  what  has  disturbed 
me." 

"  My  daughter,"  murmured  the  gentle-hearted  chap 
crone,  trying  to  draw  the  erect  head  to  her  ahoulder 
as  she  stood  by  her  niece. 

Mabel  resisted  the  kindly  force. 


HANDS.  8$ 

"  No,  no,  aunt  I  cannot  bear  that  yet  I  ha  re  just 
begun  to  think  connectedly,  and  petting  would  unnerra 
me." 

This  was  strange  talk  from  the  frank-hearted  child 
she  Lad  reared  from  babyhood,  and  while  she  desisted 
from  further  attempts  at  consolation,  Aunt  Rachel 
took  a  very  sober  visage  back  to  the  supper-room  with 
her,  and  as  little  appetite  as  Rosa  had  manifested. 
The  meal  was  quickly  over,  and  by  way  of  obeying 
the  second  part  of  Mabel's  behest,  the  innocent  diplo 
matist  begged  Rosa  to  go  to  the  piano. 

"I  always  enjoy  your  delightful  music,  my  dear. 
It  makes  the  house  more  lively." 

"Thank  you,  dear  Mrs.  Sutton.  I  should  take 
pleasure  in  obliging  you ;  but  if  Mabel  is  out  of  sorts. 
I  don't  believe  she  will  care  to  have  the  house  lively 
to-night,"  was  the  amiable  rejoinder.  "Moreover,  1 
arn  dying  to  finish  '  David  Copper-field.'  Will  you  al 
low  me  to  curl  myself  up  in  the  big  chair  here,  and 
read  for  an  hour  ? " 

Mrs.  Button  gave  a  consent  that  was  almost  glad  in 
its  alacrity,  and  pretended  to  occupy  herself  with  the 
newspapers  brought  by  the  evening  mail,  until  she 
judged  that  Mabel  had  had  season  in  which  to  com 
pose  hei  thoughts.  Then  she  muttered  something 
about  "  breakfast,"  "  muffins,"  and  "  Daphne,"  caught 
up  her  key-basket,  and  bustled  out. 

Rosa's  book  fell  from  before  her  face  at  the  Bound 


S6  CLEAN  EA3D& 

t>f  the  closing  door.  The  liquid  ey  eft  were  turbid ; 
her  features  moved  by  some  passion  mightier  far  than 
curiosity  or  compassion  for  her  friend's  distress. 

"  I  have  done  nothing — literally  nothing,  to  bring 
Vhis  on  ! "  was  the  reflection  which  brought  most  calno 
to  her  agitated  mind.  "  If  it  should  be  as  I  think,  J 
ain  guiltless  of  treachery.  My  skirts  are  clear.  My 
hands  are  clean  !  Yet  there  have  been  moments  when 
I  could  have  dipped  them  in  blood  that  this  end 
might  be  attained  ! " 

Too  restless  to  remain  quiet,  she  tossed  her  book  aside 
and  wandered  from  side  to  side  of  the  room,  halting 
frequently  to  hearken  for  Mrs.  Button's  return,  or 
Borne  noise  from  the  conference  chamber  that  might 
alleviate  her  suspense. 

"  I  tried  to  put  her  on  her  guard,"  she  broke  forth 
at  length,  bent,  it  would  seem,  upon  self -justification 
against  an  invisible  accuser.  "  I  saw  aversion  in  Win 
ston's  eye  the  day  he  came  home  to  find  the  other 
here.  He  would  never  forgive  his  slave  the  presump 
tion  of  choosing  a  husband  for  herself.  Did  f  not  tell 
her  so?  Yet  this  has  caught  her  like  a  rabbit  in  a 
trap  —  unprepared  f ^r  endurance  or  resistance.  The 
spiritless  baby!  "Would  I  give  him  up,  except  witb 
life,  if  he  loved  me  as  he  does  her? " 

It  was  not  a  baby's  face  that  was  confronting  Mrs. 
Button's  just  then.  It  was  no  weak,  spiritless  slave 
who  sustained  the  pelting  shower  of  her  comments,  he* 


OLfAJf  HANDS.  87 

wonderment  and  her  entreaties  that  Mabel  would  re 
fuse  to  abide  by  her  brother's  decision — her  guardian 
though  he  was  —  and  if  she  would  not  write  to  Fred- 
2iio  with  her  own  hand,  empower  her  aunt  to  apply 
io  him  for  *n  explanation  of  the  disgraceful  mystery. 

"  We  should  condemn  no  man  unheard,"  she  argued. 

"  It  is  but  fa.:r  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  telling 
ais  side  of  the  story." 

"  Winston's  letter  will  inform  him  of  what  and  by 
,rhom  he  is  accused,"  said  MabeL  "  He  will  have  the 
opportunity  you  speak  of.  1  should  not  be  content 
witL  my  brother's  action,  were  this  not  so.  I  have 
been  ever  the  whole  ground  again  and  again,  since 
sunset  We  —  you  and  I  —  are  powerless.  This  story 
is  either  Lrue  or  false.  If  what  we  have  read  really 
happened,  what  could  arise  from  our  correspondence 
with  the  offer-der  against  honor  and  virtue  ?  It  would 
but  complicate  difficulties.  If  he  is  unjustly  accused, 
he  can  prove  it,  and  put  his  slanderers  to  shame  with 
out  our  prompting*.  Our  interference  would  be  an  in- 
Hmation  that  he  needed  our  championship." 

* 1  believe  he  will  dear  hinself  of  every  stain,"  re 
turned  Mrs.  Button  earnestly.  "  This  is  either  a  vile 
plot  concocted  by  some  secswt  5oe,  or  the  Frederic  Chil- 
ton  mentioned  here,"  pushing  the  letter  away  from  he* 
on  the  table,  with  a  gesture  of  loathing, "  is  another 
person." 

*  Tfcat  is  very  unlikely  f " 


OLMAJT  HAJTDK 

Miibel  leaned  her  forehead  wearily  upon  hw  lia&d 
and  did  not  finish  the  sentence  immediately 

"  I  will  be  candid  with  you,  aunt,  upon  this  subject} 
as  I  have  tried  to  be  in  every  other  confidence  witi* 
which  I  have  burdened  you.  Frederic  Chilton  was  i 
student  in  the  law-school,  which  was  also  attended  bj 
Winston's  correspondent,  and  at  the  date  specified  bj 
him.  I  have  reason  to  think  there  was  something  un 
pleasant  —  something  he  wished  to  conceal  from  me, 
and  perhaps  from  everybody  else,  connected  with  Lis 
stay  there.  He  referred  to  it  ambiguously  on  the 
last  evening  of  his  visit  here,  as  a  folly,  a  youthful 
indiscretion.  I  have  the  impression,  moreover,  that  & 
married  woman  was  mixed  up  in  this  trouble,  what 
ever  it  was  —  a  lady,  some  years  older  than  himself, 
whose  husband,  a  naval  officer,  was  absent  upon  a  lon^ 
cruise.  This  may  be  the  germ  of  the  story  related 
here,  and  it  may  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  viiii  it.?* 

In  saying  "here,"  she  pointed  to  the  letter.  Both 
avoided  touching  it  as  it  lay  between  them,  «Le  big 
seal  uppermost,  and  looking  more  like  bright,  fresh 
blood  than  ever,  in  the  lamplight. 

"  My  dear,  all  this  proves  nothing  —  absolutely 
nothing — except  that  the  shock  and  ovei-much  soli 
tary  musing  have  made  you  morbid  and  unreasonable." 

Mrs.  Sutton  assumed  a  collected  air,  and  delivered 
herself  wrJi  the  mien  of  one  who  was  determined  te 
in  bruit  to  no  trifling,  and  to  credit  no  scrap  of  e\\ 


VLSAjy  EAND&,  99 


deuce  against    her    friend  which    counter-reasoning 
could  set  aside. 

"  My  husband's  godson  —  we  must  remember  he  i* 
that,  Mabel !  —  could  never  be  guilty  of  the  infamous 
onduct  ascribed  to  this  Chilton  by  Winston  Aylett's 
'tiionymous  friend.  I  <wn  accounted  a  tolerable 
judge  of  cnaracter,  and  I  maintain  that  it  is  a  moral 
impossibility  for  my  instincts  and  experience  to  be  so 
utterly  at  fault  as  these  two  men  would  make  you  be 
lieve.  As  to  the  corroboration  of  your  (  impression/ 
that  would  be  consummate  nonsense  in  the  eye  of  the 
law.  Let  us  sift  the  pros  and  cons  of  this  affair  as  ra 
tional,  unprejudiced  beings  should  —  not  jump  at  con 
elusions.  And  I  must  say,  Mabel "  —  was  the  consis 
tent  peroration  of  this  address,  uttered  in  a  mildly- 
aggrieved  tone,  while  the  blue  eyes  began  to  shine 
through  a  rising  fog  — "  it  seems  to  me  very  singu 
lar  —  really  wounds  me  —  is  not  what  I  looked  for  in 
you  —  that  you  should  rank  yourself  with  my  pool 
boy's  enemies ! " 

"  I,  his  enemy  I  "  The  word  was  a  sharp  cry  —  not 
loud,  but  telling  of  unf athomed  deeps  of  anguish,  from 
ike  verge  of  which  the  listener  drew  back  with  a  shud- 
dei.  "  I  would  have  married  him  without  a  single 
glance  at  the  past!  Let  him  but  say  'it  is  untrue  — 
all  that  you  fear  and  they  declare,'  and  I  would  dislie- 
lieve  this  tale,  instantly  and  utterly,  though  a  thousand 
swore  to  the  truth  of  it  Or,  let  him  be  al] 


OLE  AN  KAND& 

that  they  say,  I  would  marry  him  .o-night,  if  I  had 
the  right  to  do  it.  But  I  promised — and  to  promise 
with  an  Aylett  is  to  fulfil  —  that  I  woild  be  ruled  by 
my  guardian's  will,  should  the  investigation,  to  which 
Frederic  himself  did  not  object,  terminate  unfavorably 
for  my  hopes,  and  contrary  to  his  declaration/' 

"  It  was  a  rash  promise,  and  such  are  better  broken 
than  kept." 

"  Your  Bible,  Aunt  Rachel  —  to-night,  I  cannot  call 
>t  mine  I  —  commends  him  who  swears  to  his  own 
heart  and  changes  cot,"  replied  the  niece,  with  restored 
steadiness.  "  It  would  have  been  the  same  had  I  re 
fused  my  consent  to  Winston's  proposal.  I  am  a  mi 
nor,  and  who  would  wp.it  two  years  for  me  ? " 

u  Anybody  who  loved  you,  provided  your  trust  in 
him  equalled  his  in  you,"  said  Mrs.  Button,  slyly. 

Mabel's  answer  was  direct. 

"  You  want  me  to  say  that  I  do  not  believe  this  tale 
of  Mr.  Chilton's  early  errors ;  to  brand  it  as  a  mistake 
or  fabrication.  You  insinuate  that,  in  reserving  my 
sentence  until  I  shall  have  heard  both  sides  of  it,  I 
feliow  myself  unworthy  of  the  love  of  a  true  man ;  be 
tray  of  what  mean  stuS  my  affection  i*  made.  I  sup 
pose  blind  faith  is  sublime !  But  for  my  part,  I  had 
-ather  be  loved  in  spite  of  my  kncwn  faults,  than  re 
vive  wilfully  ignorant  worship." 

The  daring  stroke  at  Mrs.  Satton'i  hypothesis  oi  the 


CLEAN  EAND&  91 

inseparable  union  between  esteem  and  affection,  excited 
her  into  an  impolitic  admission. 

"  My  child,  you  make  my  blood  ran  cold !  You  do 
not  mean  that  you  could  love  a  man  for  whose  charac 
ter  you  had  no  respect  I " 

u  There  is  a  difference  between  learning  to  love  and 
continuing  to  love,"  said  Mabel,  sententiously.  u  But 
we  have  had  enough  of  useless  talk,  aunt.  In  two 
4ays  more  Winston  will  be  here.  Until  then,  let  mat 
^ere  remain  as  they  are.  You  can  tell  Rosa  as  much 
•T  as  little  as  you  like  of  what  has  happened.  She 
must  suspect  that  something  has  gone  awry.  To-mor 
row,  I  will  look  up  this  Mr.  Jenkyns,  and  deliver  the 
messages  with  which  I  am  charged  —  likewise  consult 
the  mason  about  the  *  baronial '  fireplace,"  smiling  bit* 
terly. 

"  You  never  saw  another  creature  so  altered  as  she 
is,v  Mrs  Button  bewailed  to  Rosa,  in  rehearsing  the 
scene.  •'  If  this  thing  should  turn  out  to  be  true,  she 
is  ruined  and  heart-broken  for  life.  She  will  become 
a  cold,  cynical,  unfeeling  woman  —  a  feminine  copy 
of  her  granite  brother." 

"  If ! "  reiterated  Rosa,  testily.  "  There  ia  not  one 
syllable  of  truth  in  it  from  Alpha  to  Omega !  I  know 
he  is  your  nephew,  and  that  it  is  one  of  the  Medo-Per- 
aian  laws  of  Ridgeley  that  the  king  can  do  no  wrong; 
but  I  woul  I  sooner  believe  that  Winston  Aylett  in 
vented  the  slander  throughout,  than  question  Fred 


CLEAN  HAND& 

Clulton's  integrity.    There  is  feral  play  somewhere,  ai 
you  will  discover  in  time  —  or  out  of  it ! " 

To  Mabel,  Frederic's  spirited  champion  said  never 
a  word  of  the  event  that  1:  eld  their  eyes  waking  unt£ 
dawn  —  each  motionless  as  sleepless  lest  her  bed -fel 
low  should  discover  her  real  state. 

"  I  have  had  no  share  in  causing  the  rupture.  I  am 
not  called  upon  to  heal  it,"  meditated  she.  "In  this, 
the  law  of  self-preservation  is  my  surest  guide." 

Her  resolve  to  remain  neutral  was  sharply  and  un 
expectedly  tested  the  next  afternoon. 

The  two  girls  went   out  for  a  ramble  about  fou* 
o'clock,  taking  the  beaten  foot-path  that  led  through 
cultivated  fields,  and  between  wooded  hills,  to  a  small 
post-town  two  miles  distant.     The  day  was  sunless,  but 
not  chilly,  and  when  they  had  outwalked  the  hearing 
of  the  murmur  of  rural  life  that  pervaded  the  bari« 
yard  and  adjacent  "  quarters,"  the  silence  was  oppre^ 
give,  except  when  broken  by  the  whirr  of  a  partridge 
the  melancholy  caw  of  the  crows,  scared  from  thei, 
feast  upon  the  scattered  gra'ns  knocked  from  over-ripe 
ears  of  corn  during  the  recent  "  fodder-pulling,"  and^ 
as  they  neared  it,  by  the  fretting  of  a  rapid  brook  over 
its  stony  bottom. 

The  pretence  of  secial  converse  had  been  gi?en  ap 
before  the  friends  cleared  the  first  field  beyond  the  or 
chard.  Rosa's  exquisite  tact  withheld  her  from  ob 
truding  commonplaces  upon  the  attention  of  a  mina 


CLEAN  HA1TD&.  88 

torn  by  suspense  —  distracted  between  disappointment 
and  outraged  pride,  and  Mabel  had  not  besought  her 
sympathy  in  her  grievous  strait.  They  walked  on 
swiftly,  the  one  staring  straight  forward,  yet  seeing 
nothing;  the  other,  although  thoughtful,  losing  not 
one  feature  of  the  landscape  —  the  light-gray  sky,  the 
encircling  forest,  the  yellow  broom-straw  clothing  the 
hill-sides,  the  crooked  fences,  lined  with  purple  brush, 
golden-rod,  black-bearded  alder  and  sumach,  flaming 
with  scarlet  berry  cones  and  motley  leaves.  It  wag 
tier  principle  and  habit  to  seize  upon  whatever  morsels 
of  delight  were  dropped  in  her  way,  and  she  had  a 
taste  for  attractive  bits  of  scenery,  as  for  melody 
There  was  no  reason  why  the  evil  estate  of  her  com 
panion  should  debar  her  from  quiet  enjoyment  of  the 
autumn  day.  She  was  sorry  that  Mabel  was  suffering. 
It  was  unpleasant  to  see  pain  or  grief.  Smiles  were 
prettier  than  glum  looks.  She  hoped  she  had  enough 
humanity  about  her  to  enable  her  to  recognize  these 
facts.  But,  in  her  soul,  she  despised  the  girl  for  her 
tacit  acquiescence  in  her  brother's  decree  ;  contemned 
her  yet  more  for  her  partial  credence  of  the  rumor  of 
lier  lover's  unworthiness.  It  was  as  well,  taking  these 
things  into  account,  that  Mabel  was  not  communica 
tive  with  regard  to  the  great  change  that  had  befallen 
her  since  this  hour  yesterday,  when  she  had  exnlt- 
Ingly  proclaimed  that  her  trust  WM  u  founded  upon  m 
rock." 


94  CUBAN  3AJW& 

**  Fan  win  et  mutdbiU  sernper  fominaf"  reflected 
Rosa,  who  knew  that  much  Latin  —  and  attracted  by 
the  waving  of  the  bright  grasses  beneath  the  waves  of 
the  rivulet  they  were  crossing,  she  stopped  to  lean  ovei 
the  railing  and  poke  them  aside  from  the  stones  with 
a  chincapin  switch  she  had  picked  np  a  little  way 
hack. 

Mabel  did  not  look  around ;  apparently  did  not  ob 
serve  that  she  walked  on  alone. 

"  I  dare  say  she  would  not  miss  me  for  the  next 
mile ! "  soliloquized  the  idle  lounger,  snatching  foam- 
flakes  fiom  their  nestling-places  behind  the  rocks,  and 
watching  them  as  they  danced  down  the  stream. 

Something,  whiter  and  more  regular  in  shape  than 
they,  lay  upon  the  margin  of  the  brook,  partly  con 
cealed  by  a  clump  of  sedge.  A  letter,  with  the 
address  uppermost!  Rosa's  optics  were  keen.  She 
easily  made  out  the  direction  upon  the  envelope  fron% 
where  she  stood.  It  was  Frederic  Chilton's  name  in 
Mrs.  Button's  quaint,  old-fashioned  "  back-hand  "  chir- 
ography.  An  hour  before,  as  Rosa  now  recollected, 
she  had  seen,  from  her  window,  a  negro  man  take  the 
path  to  the  village,  arranging  some  papers  iu  the 
crown  of  his  tattered  straw  hat.  He  had  dropped  this, 
the  most  important  of  all,  probably  in  stooping  to 
drink  from  his  hollowed  palms  at  the  spring-strearo 
However  this  might  be,  there  it  lay  —  the  warnimg  to 
che  calumniated  lover  that  his  traducers  were  making 


VLBAtf  KAXDa.  93 

cleaa  (or  foul)  work  with  his  fair  fame  in  the  quar 
ter  where  he  wished  to  stand  at  his  best ;  perhaps  cit 
ing  him  to  appear  and  answer  the  damaging  charge* 
ia  person  before  the  same  tribunal. 

"  If  she  would  only  let  me  drop  him  a  friendly  line 
asking  him,  for  her  sake,  to  contradict  this  horrid 
slander!"  the  distraught  matron  had  sighed,  last  night, 
in  her  recapitulatioD  of  the  conversation  with  her  ob 
durate  niece.  "  But  she  will  not  hear  of  it." 

"  I  hardly  think  he  would  like  it  either,"  Rosa  had 
rejoined.  "  It  would  hint  at  distrust  on  your  part  or 
on  hers.  Mr.  Aylett's  letter  should  be  sufficient  to 
elicit  the  defence  you  crave." 

"  You  are  in  the  right,  perhaps  1 "  But  Mrs.  Suttoi 
had  looked  miserably  discontented.  "  Yet  to  be  frank 
with  you,  Rosa,  Winston  is  not  apt  to  be  conciliatory  in 
his  measures  when  he  takes  it  into  his  head  that  the 
family  honor  is  assailed.  I  am  afraid  he  has  written 
haughtily,  if  not  insolently,  to  poor  Frederic." 

Rosa  hid  no  doubt  of  this,  even  while  she  answered, 
u  Neither  haughtiness  nor  downright  insolence  would 
prevent  a  man  who  has  so  much  at  stake  as  has  Mr. 
Ghilton,  from  taking  instant  steps  to  re-establish  hint- 
self  in  the  respect  of  the  family  he  desires  to  enter. 
Thifi  is  a  very  delicate  matter  —  tabs  what  view  of  it 
we  may.  Hadn't  you  better  wait  ft  f«w  days  before 
you  interfere?  Nothing  can  be  lost 
by  prudent  delay." 


OLJSAjy  HANDS. 


u  And  1  suppose  Winston  would  be  very  much  dis 
pleased  at  my  officioueness,  as  he  would  term  it,"  had 
been  Mrs.  Button's  reluctant  concession  to  her  young 
'*  discreet  counsels.  "  But  it  is  very  hard  to  re- 
quiet,  and  see  everything  going  to  destruction 
about  one  !  " 

She  had  evidently  reconsidered  her  resolution  to  let 
things  take  their  wrong-headed  course,  and  in  virtue 
«*f  her  prerogatives  as  match-maker  and  mender,  had 
,nrust  her  oar  into  the  very  muddy  whirlpool  boiling 
*bout  the  bark  of  her  darling's  happiness. 

Kosa  wrought  out  this  chain  of  sequences,  with 
many  other  links,  stretching  far  past  present  exigen 
cies  and  possibilities,  ere  Mabel's  figure  disappeared 
r>ehind  the  shoulder  of  the  hill  rising  beyond  the 
prook.  Should  Frederic  Chilton  receive  that  letter, 
bi  less  than  a  week  —  in  three  days,  perhaps,  for  he 
«^as  a  man  prompt  to  resolve  and  to  do  —  he  would 
present  himself  at  Eidgeley  to  speak  in  his  own  be 
half  —  an  event  Rosa  considered  eminently  undesira 
ble.  Certainly  Mabel's  pusillanimity  merited  no  such 
reward.  She  had  no  right  to  question  the  rectitude 
of  one  she  professed  to  love,  nor  her  aunt  the  right  to 
act  as  mediator.  If  Mabel  Aylett,  with  her  sound 
aeriae  and  judgment,  and  her  inherent  strength  of  will, 
would  not  hold  fast  to  her  faitii  in  her  affianced  hus 
band,  and  defy  her  brother  tc  sunder  them,  let  her 
lose  that  which  she  prized  so  lightly. 


CLEAN  HANDS.  V\ 

If  the  epistle,  soaking  slowly  there  in  the  wet,  had 
been  committed  to  Rosa's  charge,  she  would  have 
icorned  to  intercept  it ;  would  hare  deposited  it  safely 
and  punctually  in  the  post-office.  As  it  was,  if  she 
left  it  alone,  Frederic  would  never  get  it,  and  Mra 
Button  remain  unconscious  of  its  fate  —  unless  some 
other  passer-by  should  perceive  and  rescue  it  from  il 
legibility  and  dissolution ;  unless  Mabel  should  espy 
it  on  their  return-walk,  or,  coming  back,  the  next  mo 
ment,  to  seek  her  truant  mate,  catch  sight  of  the  snowy 
leaflet  of  peace  in  its  snuggery  under  the  sedge. 

A  startled  partridge  flew  over  Rosa's  head  from  the 
thither  rising  ground,  and  in  the  belief  that  he  was  the 
harbinger  ol  the  approach  she  dreaded,  she  dislodged 
the  envelope  from  its  covert,  with  a  qaick  touch  of 
sier  little  wand,  and  it  floated  down  the  stream. 

Slowly  —  all  too  gradually  at  first.  —  swinging  lazily 
around  in  the  eddies,  catching,  now  against  a  jutting 
etono,  now  entangled  by  a  blade  of  grass  —  Rosa'g 
heart  in  her  throat  as  she  watched  it,  lest  Mabel's  foot 
steps  should  be  audible  upon  the  rocky  path,  Mabel'* 
hat  appear  above  the  spur  of  the  hilL  Then  the  chan 
nel  caught  it,  whirled  it  over  and  over,  faster  and 
faster,  and  sucked  it  downward. 

Mrs.  Sutton  was  at  the  tea-table  with  the  girls  that 
evening,  when  Johnson,  the  sable  Mercury,  showed 
himself  at  the  door,  to  inform  his  superior  that  he 
"  fiF>t  everything  at  de  ato'  ghe  sent  him  fur  to  buy. 


OLSAN  RAJTD& 

"  You  mailed  the  letters,  Johnson  i  *  odd  the  mOi 
mistress,  rather  anxiously. 

"  All  on  dem,  Mistis ! " 

u  The  unconscionable  liar ! "  thought  Kosa,  virtuously^ 
u  he  ought  to  be  flogged !  But  it  is  none  of  my  bulk 
aess  to  contradict  him." 

did  mot  aay  now, "  My  hand*  we  dm  I  * 


CHAPTER  YL 

GRAFT  —  OB 

|OITK  letter  notifies  me,  in  general  term*,  that 
the  answers  returned  to  yonr  inquiries  as  to  my 
antecedents  and  present  reputation  are  the  re 
verse  of  satisfactory.  Yon  feel  constrained, 
you  add,  in  view  of  the  information  thus  obtained,  to 
interdict  my  further  intercourse  with  your  sister  or  any 
other  member  of  your  family.  Since  I  cannot  battle 
with  shadows,  or  refute  insinuations  the  drift  of  whicJt 
I  do  not  in  the  least  comprehend,  may  I  trouble  yop 
to  put  the  allegations  to  watch  you  ret^r  inrc  *  definite 
and  tangible  shape  ?  Let  me  know  who  are  my  ac 
cusers,  and  what  are  the  iniquities  with  which  they 
iharge  me.  The  worst  criminal  against  human  and 
divine  laws  has  the  right  to  demand  thus  much  before 
he  is  convicted  and  sentenced. 

"As  to  your  prohibition  of  my  continued  correspond 
ence  with  Miss  Aylett,  I  shall  consider  her  my  prom 
ised  wife,  and  write  to  her  regularly  as  such,  until  you 
made  good  your  indictment  against  me,  or  unti] 


100  V&AJW—tS  DIPLOMACY? 


I  receive  the  assurance  under  her  own  hand  and  seal 
tha+  my  conduct  in  thud  addressing  her  i»  obnoxious 
to  herself. 

"I  have  the  honor,  sir,  of  signing  myself 
a  Your  obedient  servant, 

u  FXEDEBIO  8.  OHILTOH.* 

The  cool  contempt  of  the  reply  to  his  imperative  di« 
missal  of  whatever  claims  the  presumptuous  adventurer 
nis  aunt  had  encouraged  believed  he  had  upon  Ma 
bel's  notice  or  affection,  was  likely  to  irk  Winston 
Aylett  as  more  intemperate  language  could  not  It 
did  more.  It  baffled  him,  for  a  time.  He  could,  and 
he  meant,  to  withhold  the  lover's  letter  from  his  sister's 
eyes.  He  could  —  and  upon  this  also  he  was  deter 
mined  —  command  her,  in  the  masterful  manner  that 
heretofore  had  never  failed  to  work  submission,  never 
to  meet,  speak,  or  write  again  to  the  man  he  almost 
nated  ;  will  her  to  forget  her  childish  fancy  for  hia 
handsome  face  and  glozing  arts,  and  in  the  fulness  of 
time,  to  bestow  her  in  marriage  upon  a  partner  of  hig 
own  providing.  He  had  no  misgivings  as  to  his  ability 
to  accomplish  all  this,  if  the  blackguard  aforesaid  could 
be  kept  out  of  her  way  unt:l  that  remedial  agent, 
Time,  and  lawful  authority  had  a  chance  to  do  their 
work. 

But  he  was  ^penly  defied  to  prevent  communication 
between  the  betrothed  pair,  unless  hie  ir  junction  had 


GRAFT -OR  JUPLOMACrf  101 

Mabel's  endorsement;  and,  upon  alightiEg  fivm  the 
stage  at  the  village,  on  his  return  to  Ridgeley,  he  had 
taken  from  the  post-office,  along  with  the  imper.inent 
missive  addressed  to  himself,  one  for  Mabel,  super 
scribed  by  the  same  hand.  From  the  first,  he  had  no 
intention  of  transferring  it  to  the  keeping  of  the  proper 
owner.  It  was  forwarded  in  direct  disobedience  to  hu 
commands,  and  the  writer  should  be  made  to  under 
stand  the  futility  of  opposition  to  these.  For  severa1 
hours,  his  only  purpose  respecting  it  was  to  enclose  it, 
unopened,  in  an  envelope  directed  by  himself,  and  send 
it  back  to  the  audacious  author,  by  the  next  mail.  He 
was  balked  in  this  project  by  no  fastidious  scruples  as 
to  his  right  thus  to  dispose  of  his  ward's  property. 
Nature,  or  what  he  assumed  was  natural  affection, 
concurred  with  duty  in  urging  him  to  hinder  an  alli 
ance  by  which  Mabel's  happiness  would  be  imperilled 
and  her  relatives  scandalized.  But  when,  in  the  soli 
tude  of  his  study,  he  vouchsafed  a  second  reading  to 
Frederic's  letter,  preparatory  to  the  response  he  de 
signed  should  annihilate  his  hopes  and  chastise  his  im 
pudence,  a  doubt  of  the  efficacy  of  his  schemes  attacked 
him  for  the  first  time.  "  Under  her  own  hand  and 
teal,"  were  terms  the  explicitness  of  which  commended 
them  to  his  grave  consideration.  His  next  thought 
Hras  to  oblige  Mabel  to  indite  a  formal  renunciation  of 
her  unworthy  suitor.  There  were  several  objection! 
to  this  measure. 


lft*  VBAPT-  OB  DIPLOMACY f 

Firstly,  he  disliked  whatever  smacked  cf  scenic 
effect,  and  women  were  apt  to  get  up  scenes  — hyster 
ics,  attitudes,  and  the  like  —  upon  trivial  provocation. 
He  wanted  to  get  the  thing  over  quietly  and  soon. 

Secondly,  he  was  not  very  sure  that  he  should  find  in 
Mabel  the  docile  puppet  she  had  appeared  to  him  for 
so  many  years  of  tutelage.  She  had  matured  marvel 
lously  of  late.  Her  very  manner  of  meeting  him  that 
afternoon  impressed  him  by  its  self-possession  and 
freedom  from  the  emotion  that  used  to  gush  from  eyes 
and  lips,  in  happy  tears,  and  broken,  delighted  greet 
ing  at  his  approach.  For  aught  he  knew  to  the  con 
trary,  she  might  have  accepted  his  fiat  as  just,  if  not 
merciful,  and  not  a  dream  of  rebellion  been  fostered 
thereby.  The  grave  tranquillity  of  her  demeanoi 
might  arise  from  the  chastening  influences  of  the 
mortification  she  had  sustained,  and  a  consciousness  of 
ill-desert  that  bred  humility.  He  would  fain  have  be 
lieved  all  this,  but  until  he  broached  the  subject  to  her, 
his  incertitude  could  not  be  removed,  and  in  a  step  so 
momentous  as  that  which  hu  meditated,  it  behooved 
him  to  try  well  the  solidity  of  the  ground  beneath 
him. 

Lastly,  our  blood-prince  of  the  kingdom  of  Ridge- 
ley  was,  whether  he  confessed  it  or  not,  acting  under 
orders. 

u  Be  very  tolerant  with  that  poor  little  deceived  sis 
ter  of  yours  ! "  hi&jtancJe  had  implored,  her  diamond 


GRAFT—OR  DIPLOMACY?  1CJ 


eyes  bedimined  by  quick-springing  damps  of 
eration.  "  Eecollect  that  the  consciousness  of  wasted 
love  is  always  harder  to  bear  than  what  is  commonly 
known  as  bereavement.  If  you  find  her  refractory,  be 
patient  and  persuasive,  instead  of  dictatorial.  Craft 
often  effects  what  overt  violence  would  attempt  in 
vain." 

"  Craft  !  "  The  word  struck  unpleasantly  upon  th« 
Virginia  lordling's  ear,  and  he  echoed  it  with  a  suspio 
"on  of  a  frown  upon  his  brow.  "  I  am  not  an  adept  in 
Chicanery  1  " 

"  But  you  are  a  born  diplomatist  1  "  seductively.  "  And 
because  I  am  of  the  same  credulous  sex  as  our  mis 
taken  little  darling,  you  will  not  proceed  to  open  war 
fare  with  her,  even  should  she  be  loth  to  resign  her 
lover  \  It  is  the  glory  of  the  strong  to  show  charity  to 
the  weak  and  erring." 

For  her  sake,  then,  our  flattened  diplomatist  would 
try  the  effect  of  guile,  instead  of  brutality,  upon  the 
helpless  girl,  the  balance  of  whose  fate  was  grasped  by 
Ids  shapely  hand.  For  one  base  second,  the  idea  of 
attempting  an  imitation  of  his  sister's  handwriting 
flashed  through  his  mind.  But  he  was  a  gentleman, 
and  forgery  is  not  a  gentlemanly  vice,  any  more  than 
is  counterfeiting  bank-notes.  Finally,  the  author  of 
craft  —  the  subtle,  refined  virtue  bepraised  by  hit 
bride-elect  —  the  devil  —  came  to  hia  help. 

Mabel,  like  most  other  girls,  had  a  dainty  and 


CRAFT— OR  DIPLOMAOT* 

tastic  taste  in  the  matter  of  letter-paper  and  ei*T8lop«ii 
She  used  none  but  French  stationery,  stamped  with 
her  monogram  —  a  curious  device,  wrought  in  two 
colors  —  and  at  the  top  of  each  sheet  stood  out  in  bas- 
relief  the  Ajlett  crest.  With  these  harmless  whimgie* 
Frederic  was,  without  doubt,  familiar.  If  his  letter 
were  returned  to  him,  wrapped  in  a  blank  page, 
taken  from  her  pap^tiere  and  within  one  of  her  enve 
lopes,  it  would  not  signify  so  much  whose  handwrit 
ing  was  upon  the  exterior.  Pa/pStiere  and  writing, 
desk  were  in  Mabel's  bed-room,  but  she  was  in  the 
parlor,  practising  an  instrumental  duet  with  Rosa  —  a 
favorite  with  Miss  Dorrance.  Winston  had  brought  it 
south  with  him,  and  asked  hitj  sister  to  learn  it  forth 
with,  in  just  the  accent  he  used  to  employ  when  pre 
scribing  what  studies  she  should  pursue  at  school 
There  was  nothing  in  his  errand  that  he  should  be 
ashamed  of,  he  reminded  himself  with  impatient  se 
verity,  as  he  traversed  the  upper  hall  on  tip-toe  to  the 
western  chamber.  He  had,  on  sundry  previous  occa 
sions,  sought,  in  the  receptacles  he  was  about  to  ran- 
B&^lr,  for  sealing-wax,  pencils,  and  the  like  trifles. 
Manel  was  too  wise  a  woman  not  to  keep  her  secret* 
nnder  lock  and  key,  and  if  there  were  private  docu 
ments  left  in  his  way,  he  was  too  honorable  to  pry  into 
them. 

Shutting   the  door  cautiously,  that  the  snap  and 
blaze  might  not  betray  him,  he  struck  a  wax  match. 


CELaJT-OB  DZPLJMAOYf  105 

warranted  to  burn  a  minute-and-a-half,  and  raised 
the  lid  of  the  desk.  His  unseen  but  wily  coadjutof 
bad  guided  him  cunningly.  In  fingering  a  heap  of 
envelopes  in  order  to  find  one  large  enough  for  his 
purpose,  he  brought  to  light  one  addressed  to  "  Mr. 
Frederic  Chilton,  Box  910,  Philadelphia,  Penn." 

Upon  the  reverse  was  a  small  blot  that  had  com- 
demned  it  in  Mabel's  sight,  as  unfit  to  be  sent  to 
her  most  valued  correspondent,  and  which  she  had  not 
observed  before  writing  the  direction.  Selecting  an 
other,  she  had  thrown  this  back  carelessly  into  the 
desk,  meaning  to  burn  it  when  it  should  be  convenient, 
and  forgotten  all  about  it. 

The  livid  dints  were  deep  and  restless  in  "Winston's 
nostrils,  as  seen  by  the  light  of  the  tiny  taper  he  raised 
to  extinguish,  when  his  prize  was  secured.  The  devil 
supplied  him  with  another  crafty  hint,  as  he  was  IL 
the  act  of  folding  one  edge  of  Frederic's  letter  that  it 
might  fit  into  the  new  cover.  Why  not  strip  off  the 
letter  entirely,  that  it  might  seem  to  have  been  opened, 
read,  and  then  flung  back  upon  the  writer's  hands  with 
contumely  ?  Half-way  measures  were  unsafe  and  fool 
ish.  Stratagem,  to  be  efficient,  should  t«  not  only 
deft,  but  thorough ;  else  it  was  bungling,  not  diplo 
macy.  His  hand  did  not  shake  in  divesting  the  closely- 
written  sheet  of  its  wrapping,  but  in  one  respect  hi* 
behavior  was  in  consonance  with  the  gentlemanly  in 
fitincts  he  raunted  as  a  proof  of  pure  old  blood.  H« 
8* 


106  f&AFT-  OR  DIPLOMACY? 

tiverte>l  his  eyes  lest  he  should  see  a  line  the  lover  had 
penned  to  his  mistress.  The  letter  slipped  smoothly 
into  the  quarters  prepared  for  it  —  smoothly  as  Satan'f 
mark  usually  goes  on  until  his  tool  has  made  his  dam 
intion  sure. 

*  Well  done  1 "  said  Diabolus. 

4<  That  was  a  clever  hit  1 "  chimed  in  his  assistant, 
complacently,  after  he  had  put  the  sealed  envelope  in 
to  his  portfolio  for  safe-keeping,  and  burned  the  torn 
one  he  had  removed.  "Nobody  but  an  idiot  or  a 
oadman  would  persist  in  following  a  girl  up  after 
such  a  quietus." 

He  replied  to  Frederic's  note  to  himself  shortly  and 
with  disdain,  using  the  third  person  throughout,  and 
informing  Mr.  Chilton  with  unmistakable  distinctness 
that  Miss  Aylett  had  offered  no  opposition  whatever 
to  her  brother's  will  in  this  unfortunate  affair.  So  far 
as  he  —  Mr.  Aylett — could  judge,  her  views  coincided 
exactly  with  his  own.  Mr.  Chilton's  letters  and  pres 
ents  should  be  returned  to  him  at  an  early  day,  and 
jhus  should  be  finished  the  closing  chapter  of  a 
volume  which  ought  never  to  have  been  begun. 

All  this  done  to  his  mind,  he  set  the  door  of  hia 
room  ajar,  and  watched  for  Mabel's  passage  to  hers. 

He  had  not  to  wait  long.  The  young  ladies  had 
fallen  into  habits  of  early  retiring  of  late  —  a  marked 
change  from  their  olden  fashion  of  singing  and  talk 
ing  out  the  midnight  hour.  Himself  unseen,  Mr 


GRAFT—  OR  DIPLOMAQYf  107 

Aylett  scrutinized  the  two  mounting  the  stairs  aide  by 
Bide  —  Kosa's  dark,  mobile  face,  arch  with  smiles, 
while  she  chattered  over  a  bit  of  country  gossip  she 
had  heard  that  afternoon  from  a  visitor,  and  the  weary 
ealia  of  Mabel's  visage,  the  drooping  eyelids,  and^ 
when  appealed  to  directly  by  her  volatile  comrade,  the 
measured,  not  melancholy  cadence  of  her  answer. 
The  girl  had  had  a  sore  fight,  and  won  a  Pyrrhian  vic 
tory.  She  was  not  vanquished,  but  she  was  worsted. 
Some  men,  upon  appreciating  what  this  meant,  and  how 
her  grief  had  been  wrought,  would  have  had  direful  vis- 
ttiiigs  of  conscience,  surrendered  themselves  to  the  mas 
tery  of  doubts  as  to  the  righteousness  and  humanity  oi 
stringent  action  such  as  he  had  just  consummated.  He 
was  not  unmoved.  He  really  loved  his  only  sister,  aa 
proud,  selfish  men  love  those  of  their  own  lineage  who 
have  never  disputed  their  supremacy,  and  derogated 
from  their  importance.  He  said  something  under  his 
breath  before  he  called  her,  but  the  curse  was  not 
upon  himself. 

"  The  low-bred  hound  I "  he  muttered.  "  This  is  hia 
joiiig!" 

Mabel  halted  at  the  stair-head,  the  blood  suddenly 
and  utterly  forsaking  her  cheeks  when  he  spoke  her 
name,  although  his  address  was  purposely  kind,  and,  he 
thought,  inviting 

U0an  you  spare  me  a  moment?"  he  continued, 
tmilingly,  to  win  her  advance.  v  I  will  not  detair 


iOS  ORAPT~Q&  DJPLCMAOTf 

you  long.     I  know  you  are  agonizing  to  aave  your 
talk  out,  Miss  Bosa." 

Rosa  laughed,  with  a  saucy  "etort,  and  turned  into 
her  chamber. 

Mabel  entered  hei  brother's,  and  without  speaking, 
took  the  seat  he  offered.  She  was  to  be  sentenced, 
and  she  must  reserve  her  forces  to  sustain  the  pain 
without  a  groan. 

"You  saw  Jenkyns  —  did  you  not?"  began  Mr. 
Aylett,  with  the  manner  of  one  at  peace  with  himself, 
and  those  of  his  fellow-men  whose  existence  he  chose 
to  acknowledge. 

"  I  did.  He  made  memoranda  of  your  orders,  and 
said  all  should  be  done  as  yon  wished." 

"  I  ordered  the  masons,  this  evening,  to  begin  the 
hall-chimney  to-morrow.  While  the  work  is  going 
on,  you  had  better  occupy  some  other  bed-room.  I 
shall  hurry  it  forward,  day  and  night,  or  it  will  not  b« 
done  in  season  for  us  when  we  return  from  our  bridal- 
tour.  The  carpets  must  be  down,  and  the  paper  dry 
by  the  fifteenth  at  farthest  Clara  bought  your  dresses, 
and  offers  to  have  them  made,  if  you  will  send  her  an 
accurate  measurement.  Yon  are  about  her  height,  al 
though  not  so  well-proportioned.  Your  figure  is  an 
gular,  where  hers  is  round.  She  is  your  senior  by  &*- 
eral  years,  yet  one  might  easily  mistake  her  foj  a  girl 
of  twenty,  her  complexion  is  so  fresh.  Her  twenty 
fire  years  show  themselyet  in  nothing  except  her 


O&AFT—OM  DIPLOMA  JT  9 


of  manner,  maturity  of  thought,  and  elegwice  of  dio 
tion." 

He  would  have  sneered  at  thia  strain  in  anither  u 
hypeibolical  and  fatuous.  The  absurdity  of  it  in  hie 
mouth  consisted  mainly  in  the  cool  arrogance  of  the 
Assumption  that  whatever  belonged  to  him  was  abcve 
adverse  criticism,  and  would  be  maligned  if  it  were 
referred  to  without  appending  an  encomium.  Much 
of  fervor  might  and  did  mingle  in  his  thoughts  of  her 
he  was  to  wed,  but  none  warmed  his  enumeration  of 
her  perfections.  He  did  nothing  con  amore,  unless  it 
were  exalting  the  dignity  and  glory  of  the  Aylett 
name,  and  maintaining  his  right  to  support  their  an 
cient  honors. 

Mabel  did  not  respond  to  his  gratuitous  praise  of 
the  fair  and  benevolent  Clara.  While  he  was  talking, 
be  seemed  to  recede  a  great  way  from  her;  his  tones 
to  ring  hollowly  upon  her  hearing,  his  form  to  grow 
tndistinct.  Was  he  playing  with  her  suspense,  or 
oould  it  be  that  he  —  a  being  with  heart  and  nerves 
like  hers,  had  no  conception  of  the  rack  on  which  she 
was  stretched  —  no  suspicion  that  every  one  of  his  de 
liberate  sentences  was  a  turn  of  the  screw  that  re 
doubled  her  torture?  The  Ayletts  were  a  strong- 
willed  race,  and  she  repressed  all  sign  of  Buffering  save 
intense  pallor;  made  this  less  palp&ble  by  screening 
her  eyes  from  the  lamp-light  with  a  papc*  she  took 


110  CRAFT—  CH  DIPLOMACY t 

from  the  table,  and  thereby  throwing  her  features 
deep  shadow. 

"  But  it  is  not  my  intention  to  trouble  you  witk 
matters  that  concern  me  alone,"  he  pursued,  without 
varying  his  intonations.  "  As  I  anticipated,  Mr.  Chil- 
ton  declines  explaining  the  ngly  story  relative  to  hit 
earlier  career  of  dissipation  and  deceit,  which  I  for 
warded  to  you.  He  indulges,  instead,  in  a  tirade  of 
personal  abuse  touching  my  right  to  control  you,  de 
claring  his  purpose  to  pursue  you  with  letters  and  at 
tentions  until  he  shall  be  discarded  by  yourself.  We 
will  not  stay  to  discuss  the  gentlemanliness  and  deli 
cacy  of  his  behavior  in  this  regard.  I  merely  declare, 
that,  having  had  a  fair  opportunity  of  honest  confes 
sion  or  denial  of  statements  detrimental  to  his  princi 
ples  and  pursuits,  and  having  shirked  both,  he  has 
olaced  himself  outside  the  pale  of  respectful  consider 
ation.  Has  he  written  to  you  since  his  receipt  of  my 
letter?" 

"No!" 

Mabel  was  staring  at  a  figure  in  the  carpet,  on  a 
line  with  her  feet  Had  she  regarded  her  brother 
never  so  attentively,  she  would  have  detected  m> 
change  in  his  countenance.  He  did  not  prepare  ques 
tions  without  also  studying  how  to  deHver  them. 

"  I  am  glad  he  has  the  moial  decency  to  forbear 
Carrying  out  his  threat  of  persecution." 

He  could  say  it  with  the  greater  hardihood  in  the 


CRAFT-  OS  DIPLOMAVY*  111 

remembrance  that  the  "  persecutioL "  had  oeen  at 
tempted. 

"  I  wish  he  had  written  1 "  rejoined  Mabel,  abruptly, 
b~o  without  passion.  "  He  was  right  to  protest  against 
fcooepting  his  dismissal  from  any  other  than  myself ." 

She  had  not  removed  her  eyes  from  the  spot  on  the 
carpet,  or  lowered  the  paper  screen.  She  looked  like 
a  statue  and  spoke  like  an  automaton. 

Mr.  Aylett's  nostrils  quivered  ominously. 

"  Is  it  your  wish  to  recommence  the  correspondence 
I  have  ended  ?  " 

"  You  know  that  I  wonld  strike  off  my  right  hand 
sooner  than  do  it  But  if  he  had  written  to  me,  I 
should  have  answered  his  letter,  if  it  had  been  only  to 
bid  him  farewell.  Since  he  has  not  chosen  to  do  this, 
I  cannot  take  the  initiative." 

If  Winston  had  never  entertained  a  favorable  opin 
ion  of  his  own  sagacity  prior  to  hearing  this  avowal,  it 
would  have  forced  itself  upon  him  now.  How  timely 
was  the  thought,  how  felicitous  the  accident,  that  had 
aided  him  to  ward  off  the  disaster  of  renewed  inter 
course  I 

Involuntarily  his  fingers  crept  nearer  to  the  closed 
portfolio. 

"  No  good  could  have  come  of  that  I n  returned  he 
coldly.  "  When  an  amputation  is  to  be  performed, 
wise  people  submit  to  it  without  useless  preliminaries. 
The  exchange  of  farewell*  in  this  case  wonld  b€  inei 


1 12  CRAFT—  OR  DXPLOJfAOTf 

pedient  in  the  highest  degree.  Yen  would  compro 
mise  yourself  by  continued  acknowledgment  of  thii 
fellow's  acquaintance.  My  will  is  that  you  and  th« 
world  should  forget,  as  soon  as  it  can  be  done,  that  you 
ever  saw  or  heard  of  him.  The  connection  was  de 
grading." 

"Do*»'t  abuse  him,  brother!  Let  the  knowledge 
that  we  are  parted  forever,  satisfy  your  resentment 
Since  he  has  not  appealed  to  me  from  your  verdict,  I 
am  left  to  suppose  that,  upon  second  thoughts,  he  has 
resolved  to  acquiesce  in  your  wilL  I  do  not  blame 
him  for  the  change  of  purpose."  Still  impassive  in 
feature  and  voice,  still  not  withdrawing  her  fixed  gaze 
from  that  one  point  upon  the  floor.  "He,  too,  hae 
pride,  and  it  matches  yours.  I  do  not  say  mine.  1 
question,  sometimes,  if  I  have  any." 

"  If  your  conjecture  be  correct,  you  cannot  object  te 
return  the  letters  you  have  already  received  from 
him,"  said  Winston,  pressing  on  to  the  conclusion  of  a 
disagreeable  business.  a  Since  you  are  net  likely  to 
add  to  your  stock  of  these  valuables,  you  do  not  care 
to  retain  them,  I  suppose  ?  I  believe  the  rule  is  total 
surrender  of  souvenirs  when  a  rupture  is  prcnounced 
hopeless." 

"  I  shall  keep  them  a  week  longer ! " 

She  assigned  no  reason  for  the  resolution,  and  her 
manner,  without  b^ng  sullen,  aggravated  her  brother 


ORAFI'-OR  DIPLOMACY?  113 

wrath,  the  effiuaion  of  which  was  &  withering 
sneer. 

"  Your  hope  in  his  repentance  is  creditable  to  the 
strength  —  or  weakness  —  of  woman's  love.  But  have 
your  way.  The  illustrious  record  of  his  former  life  ii 
a  powerful  argument  in  favor  of  clemency.  In  a 
week,  then  1 " 

He  nodded  dismissal,  wheeled  his  chair  around  to 
the  table,  dipped  a  pen  in  the  standish,  and  pnlled  an 
account-book  toward  him. 

He  was  surprised  and  not  pleased,  nevertheless,  that 
Mabel  retired  without  other  reply  than  a  simple 
"  Good-night,"  said  without  temper,  or  any  evidence 
Df  excitement.  A  month  before,  a  milder  sarcasm,  the 
lightest  breath  of  reproof,  would  have  brought  her  to 
'is  feet  in  a  paroxysm  of  tears,  to  implore  pardon  for 
her  contumacy,  and  to  promise  obedience  for  all  time 
to  come.  She  was  getting  beyond  his  control  the 
while  she  offered  no  open  resistance  to  his  govern 
ment.  Was  sorrowful  shame,  or  her  infatuation  for 
the  adventurer  he  cursed  in  his  heart  by  his  gods,  the 
influence  that  was  petrifying  her  into  this  unlovely 
caricature  of  her  once  bright  and  affectionate  self  ? 

She  presented  herself,  unsummoned,  in  his  study  at 
the  expiration  of  the  period  she  had  designated,  a  pac- 
quet  iii  her  hand,  neatly  done  up  and  sealed. 

"  I  will  trouble  you  to  direct  it,"  was  all  she  said,  «a 
fihe  kid  it  before  him. 


CRAFT— OR  ITPLOMACYf 

u  Tliis  is  done  of  your  own  free  will  —  remember  I  * 
he  said,  impressively.  "  In  after  years,  should  you  b« 
ao  unreasonable  as  to  regret  it,  there  must  be  no  mis 
conception  on  the  subject  between  us.  If  you  wish, 
*t  this,  the  eleventh  hour,  to  draw  back,  I  shall  not  op- 
pose  you." 

"  You  will  write  the  address,  then,  if  you  please !  > 
was  M&bc?'s  reply,  showing  him  the  surface  intended 
for  it. 

Then  she  left  him. 

"A  sensible  girl,  after  all!  a  genuine  Aylett,  in 
frill  and  stoicism  I "  commented  the  master  of  the  situ 
ation,  beginning  in  his  round,  legible  characters,  the 
inscription  he  hoped  never  to  trace  again.  *•  So  endeth 
her  first  lesson  in  Cupid's  manual !" 

He  never  knew  that  Mrs.  Sutton  had  bolstered  the 
Aylett  will  and  stoicism  into  stanchness  at  this  clos 
ing  scene.  In  a  fit  of  despondency,  she  had  that  morn 
ing  imparted  to  Mabel  the  fact  that  she  had  written  to 
Frederic,  ten  days  before,  and  had  no  answer,  although 
ehe  had  besought  an  immediate  one. 

ki  1  have  expected  him  confidently  every  day  for  a 
week,"  she  lamented.  "1  didn't  suppose  he  would 
stay  at  Ridgeley,  after  what  has  happened ;  but  there's 
the  hotel  in  the  village,  and,  as  I  told  him,  he  could 
accomplish  more  by  an  hour's  talk  with  you  than  by 
fifty  letters.  It  is  very  mysterious  —  his  continued  si 
lence  !  He  always  appeared  BO  frank  and  reasonable 


CRAFT—  OR  JDJPLOMAOTf 


Nothing  else  like  it  has  ever  occurred  in  my  experi 
*nce  —  and  I  have  had  a  great  deal,  my  dear  !  " 

"  I  am  sorry  you  wrote,  aunt,"  replied  Mabel,  eor 
row  fully  dignified.  "  Sorry  you  have  subjected  your- 
a-elf  to  unnecessary  mortification.  I  am  past  feeling  it 
for  uivself.  We  cannot  longer  doubt  that  Mr.  Chilton 
desires  to  hold  no  further  communication  with  any  of 


Within  the  hour  she  made  up  the  parquet  and 
rigd  it  to  her  brother. 


CHAPTER  TIL 

WA68AIL. 

LMOST  sixteen  months  had  passed  since  the 
dewless  September  morning,  when  Mabel  had 
gathered  roses  in  the  garden  walks,  and  hen 
brother's  return  had  shaken  the  dew  with  the 
bloom  from  her  young  heart  It  was  the  evening  of 
Christmas-day,  and  the  tide  of  wassail,the  blaze  of 
yule,  were  high  at  Ridgeley.  Without,  the  fall  of 
snow  that  had  commenced  at  sundown,  was  waxing 
heavier  and  the  wind  fiercer.  In-doors,  fires  roam* 
and  crackled  upon  every  hearth ;  there  was  a  stir  a* 
busy  or  merry  life  in  every  room.  About  the  spacioiu 
fire  place  in  the  f<  baronial "  hall  was  a  wide  semicircle 
of  young  people,  and  before  that  in  the  parlor,  a  cluster 
of  elders,  whose  graver  talk  was  enlivened,  from  time 
to  time,  by  the  peals  of  laughter  that  tossed  into  jubil 
ant  surf  the  stream  of  the  juniors'  converse. 

Nearest  the  mantel,  on  the  left  wing  of  the  line,  sat 
the  three   months^  bride,  Imogene  Barksdale,  placid, 
dove  eyed,  and  smiling  as  of  yore,  very  comely  witk 
futi 


WAJS&AIL.  Ill 

her  expression  of  satisfied  prettinese  nobody  called 
vanity,  and  bedecked  in  her  "second  day's  dress"  of 
azure  eiik  and  her  bridal  ornaments.  Her  husband 
hovered  on  the  outside  of  the  ring,  now  pulling  the 
floating  curls  of  a  girl-cousin  (every  third  girl  IE,  the 
country  was  his  cousin,  once,  twice,  or  thrice-remcved, 
and  none  resented  the  liberties  he,  as  a  married  man, 
was  pleased  to  take),  anon  whispering  in  the  ear  of  a 
bashful  maiden  interrogatories  as  to  her  latest  admirer 
or  rumored  engagement;  oftenest  leaning  upon  the 
back  of  his  wife's  chair,  a  listener  to  what  was  going 
on,  his  hand  lightly  toucning  her  lace-veiled  shoulders, 
until  her  head  gradually  inclined  against  his  arm. 
They  were  a  loving  couple,  and  not  shy  of  testifying 
their  content  to  the  world. 

"  They  remind  me  irresistibly  of  a  pair  of  plump 
babies  sucking  at  opposite  ends  of  a  stick  of  sugar 
candy!"  Rosa  Tazewell  said  aside  to  the  hostess,  as 
the  latter  paused  beside  her  on  her  way  through  the 
aall  to  the  parlor. 

"The  candy  is  very  sweet!"  replied  Mrs.  Aylett, 
charitably,  but  laughing  at  the  conceit  —  the  low, 
musi(ial  laugh  that  was  at  once  girlish  in  its  gleeful- 
ness,  yet  perfectly  well-bred. 

Mr.  Aylett  heard  it  from  his  stand  on  the  parlor- 
rug,  and  sent  a  quick  glance  in  that  direction.  It  was 
slow  in  returning  to  the  group  surrounding  him.  He 
had  married  a  beautiful  woman  —  sc  said  every- 


118  WAJ3SALL 

body  —  and  a  fascinating,  as  even  everybody 's  wild 
did  not  dispute.  In  his  sight,  she  was  simply  and 
entirely  worthy  of  the  distinction  he  had  bestowed 
upon  her ;  an  adornment  to  Kidgeley  and  his  name. 
From  their  wedding-day,  his  deportment  toward  her 
had  been  the  same  as  it  was  to-night  —  attentive,  but 
never  officious ;  deferential,  yet  far  removed  from  sesr- 
viiity ;  a  manner  that,  without  approximating  uxorious- 
ness,  yet  impressed  the  spectator  with  the  conviction 
that  she  was  with  him  first  and  dearest  among  women } 
a  partner  of  whom,  if  that  were  possible,  he  was  more 
proud  than  fond  —  and  of  the  depth  and  reality  of  his 
affection  there  could  be  no  question. 

She  declined  to  seat  herself  in  the  circle,  although 
warmly  importuned  by  her  guests  thus  to  add  bril 
liancy  to  their  joyous  party,  yet  recaained  standing 
near  Rosa,  interested  and  amused  by  the  running  fire 
of  compliment  and  badinage  that  wecS  to  make  up  the 
hilarious  confusion.  If  the  family  iracord  had  been 
consulted,  the  truth  that  she  had  counted  her  thirty- 
eecond  summer  would  have  astonished  her  husband, 
with  her  new  neighbors.  Apparently  she  was  not 
over  twenty-five.  Her  chestnut  hair  was  a  marvel  for 
brightness  and  profusion,  her  broad  brow  smooth  and 
^hite,  her  figure,  as  Winston  had  described  it  to  hia 
sister,  rounded,  even  to  voluptuousness,  yet  supple  as  it 
had  been  at  fifteen.  In  her  cheeks,  too,  the  blushes 
fluctuated  readily  and  softJy,  and  whec  she  §miledthe7 


WAS/SAIL  119 

teeth  showed  like  those  of  a  little  child  in  ause  and 
purity.  Her  voice  matched  her  beauty  well,  never 
loud,  always  melodious,  with  a  peculiar,  gliding,  legato 
movement  of  the  graceful  sentences,  for  the  pleasing 
dfect  of  which  she  was  indebted  partly  to  Nature,  and 
much  more  to  Art.  She  appeared  on  this  evening  in 
a  green  silk  dress,  matronly  in  shade  and  general  style, 
but  not  devoid  of  coquettish  arrangement  in  the  square 
corsage,  the  opening  of  which  was  filled  with  foam- 
like  puffs  of  thulle,  threatening,  when  her  bust  heaved 
in  mirth  or  animated  speech,  to  overflow  the  sheeny 
boundaries.  A  chaplet  of  ivy-leaves  encircled  her 
head,  and  trailed  upon  one  shoulder  ;  her  bracelets 
were  heavy,  chased  gold  without  gems  of  any  kind; 
a  single  diamond  glittered  —  a  point  of  prismatic  light 
at  her  throat  Her  wedding-ring  was  her  only  other 
ornament. 

"  Very  aweet,  I  grant  you,  and  very  flavorless,"  ru- 
turned  Rosa.  "And  alarmingly  apt  to  turn  sour  upo* 
the  stomach.  I  had  rather  be  fed  upon  pepper  lozei 


"  You  should  have  been  born  in  the  Spice  Islands," 
aaid  the  hostess,  tapping  the  dark  cheek  with  her  fore 
finger.  "  But  we  could  not  spare  you  firm  our  wassail- 
cup  to-night,  my  dear  Lady  Pimento  I" 

She  bent  slightly,  that  the  flattery  might  reach  no 
other  ear.  She  may  not  have  known  that  Rosa's  Creole 
skin  was  at  a  wretched  disadvantage,  as  seen  against 


^00  WASSAIL. 

tne  green  silk  background ;  bnt  others  noticed  it,  and 
thought  how  few  complexions  were  comparable  to  the 
wearer's.  She  had  the  faculty  of  converting  into  a  fofl 
Dearly  every  woman  who  approached  her. 

"Thank  you!  So  I  am  pimento,  am  I?"  queried 
Rosa,  pertly.  "  And  each  of  us  is  to  personate  some 
condiment  — sweet,  ardent,  or  aromatic — in  the  exhil 
arating  drav*ght !  Which  shall  Mr.  Harrison  here  be! 


"  That  is  a  line  of  a  college  drinking-song ! " 
The  speaker  was  a  young  man  of  eight-and-twenty; 
who  sat  between  Rosa  and  Mabel,  and  whose  atten 
tions  to  the  latter  were  marked.  Of  medium  height, 
with  sandy  hair  and  whiskers,  high  cheek-bones,  that 
gave  a  Gaelic  cast  to  his  physiognomy ;  which  was  re 
markable  for  nothing  in  particular  when  at  rest,  and 
followed  somewhat  tardily  the  operations  of  his  mind 
when  he  talked,  he  would  probably  have  been  the  least 
likely  person  present  to  rivet  a  stranger's  notice  bnt  for 
the  circumstance  that  he  played  shadow  to  the  host's 
sister  and  was  Mrs.  Aylett's  brother.  With  regard  to 
the  feeling  entertained  by  the  former  of  those  ladioi 
fcr  him,  there  were  many  and  diverse  opinions,  but  his 
fester's  partiality  was  unequivocally  exhibited.  Of  her 
three  brothers,  this — the  youngest,  the  least  handsome, 
and  the  only  bachelor  —  was  her  favorite.  She  took 
pains  to  apprise  his  fellow-guesti  of  this 


WABRAIL.  1*1 

faot  by  petting  him  openly,  and  exerting  her  finest 
artifices  to  bring  him  out  in  becoming  color*, 

"  It  is."  she  answered  Him  now,  admiringly.  "  What 
a  memory  yon  have,  my  dear  Herbert  1  .Now  I  am 
sever  positive  with  whom  to  credit  a  quotation.  1 
recollect,  since  you  ha^e  spoken,  that  your  famous 
quartette-club  used  to  render  that  with  much  4claty 
and  how  it  was  encored  at  the  brilliant  private  concert 
you  gave  in  behalf  of  some  popular  charity  or  other." 

Thus  encouraged,  Mr.  Dorrancc  proceeded  to  enlarge 
the  fragment : 


'Now,  noM,  jolly  red  MM ! 
Where  got  yon  tnmt  jolly  red  MM? 
Nutmeg  and  ginger,  cinnamon  and 
These  gave  me  tola  Jolly  red  MM.' 


You  did  not  quote   the  third  line    correctly,  Miss 

Tazewell" 

"  Never  having  been  a  college  bacchanalian,  I  am 
excusable  for  the  inaccuracy,"  she  retorted.  "I  did  not 
even  know  where  I  picked  up  the  foolish  bit  Having 
ascertained  the  origin  to  be  of  doubtful  respectability, 
I  shall  never  use  it  again." 

"  Mj  sister  has  alluded  to  our  quartette-club,"  pur 
sued  Mr.  Dorrance,  turning  from  the  caustic  beauty  to 
Mabel,  without  noticing  the  impertinent  thrust  "  It 
was  the  most  successful  thing  of  the  kind  I  ever  knew 
of,  being  composed  of  thoroughly-trained  musicians  — 
amateurs,  of  course — and  practising  nothing  but  classic 


122  WASSAIL. 

music,  the  productions  of  the  best  masters.  There  u 
something  both  instructive  and  elevating  in  such  an 
association," 

"  Especially  when  the  theme  of  their  consideration  i& 
the  <  Jolly  Ked  Nose,' "  interposed  the  wicked  minx  at 
his  other  elbow. 

Two  giddy  girls  tittered,  unawed  by  Mrs.  Aylett'* 
proximity  and  her  brother's  owl-like  stare  at  his  critic. 

"  You  may  not  be  aware,  Miss  Tazewell,  that  the 
lyric  to  which  you  have  reference  is  celebrated,  both 
for  its  antiquity,  and  the  pleasing  harmonies  that  must 
ever  commend  it  to  the  taste  of  the  true  lover  of  music; 
although  I  allow  that  to  a  disciple  of  the  modern  and 
more  flimsy  school  of  this  glorious  art,  it  may  seen; 
puerile  and  ridiculous,"  he  remarked,  in  grandiose  pat 
ronage.  Then,  again  to  Mabel,  "  There  were  four  ol 
us  —  as  I  said  —  all  students.  What  is  it,  Clara  ? " 

*  I  have  dropped  my  bracelet  upon  the  floor,  between 
you  and  Miss  Tazewell,"  stooping  to  shake  out  Rosa's 
full  akirta,  from  which  the  trinket  fell  with  a  clinking 
Bound. 

Three  gentlemen  darted  forward  to  pick  it  up,  but 
ker  husband  noted  approvingly  that,  while  she  accepted 
it  graciously  from  the  lucky  finder,  and  thanked  the 
others  for  their  kindly  interest  in  the  fate  of  her  "  ban 
ble,"  she  held  out  her  arm  to  her  brother,  that  be  might 
clasp  it  again  in  its  place.  Affable  always,  winning 
whomsoever  she  chose  to  admiration  of  her  personal 


WASSAIL.  123 

mental  endowments,  she  never  departed  from  mat 
ronly  decorum.  The  company  agreed  silently,  or  in 
guarded  asides,  that  she  was  charming.  No  tongue  — 
even  the  most  reckless  or  venomous  —  ever  lisped  the 
dread  word,  levity,  in  connection  with  her  name. 

u  Take  care,  my  dear  brother !  you  will  pinch  me  I " 
those  near  heard  her  say,  and  she  twisted  the  golden 
circlet  that  the  clasp  might  be  uppermost. 

Rosa's  alert  ear  caught  the  hurried  murmnr  which 
succeeded,  and  was  muffled,  so  to  speak,  by  her  affec 
tionate  smile  of  gratitude. 

"  What  were  you  about  to  say  t  Will  you  never 
learn  prudence  ? " 

"  The  dove  has  talons,  then  ? "  mused  the  eavesdrop 
per.  "  But  what  was  he  in  danger  of  revealing  ? " 

If  the  interdicted  revelation  had  connection,  close  o? 
remote,  with  the  famous  quartette  club,  he  kept  well 
away  from  it  after  this  reminder,  beginning,  when  ha 
resumed  his  seat,  to  discourse  upon  the  comparative 
excellence  of  wood  and  coal  fires,  of  open  chimney- 
places  and  stoves. 

Mrs.  Aylett  smiled  an  engaging  and  regretful  "  au 
rvvoir  "  to  the  circle,  and  passed  on  to  look  after  th« 
oorni'ort  and  pleasure  of  her  elder  visitors,  and  Rosa 
soon  dir^covered  that  her  awakened  curiosity  would  be 
in  no  wise  appeased  by  listening  to  the  steady,  patter 
ing  drone  of  Mr.  Dorrance's  oration.  Oratorical  ho 
to  a  degree  that  excited  the  secret  amusement  of 


WAMAJL. 


the  facile  Southern  youths  about  him.  With  them,  tht 
art  of  light  conversation  had  been  a  study  from  boy 
hood,  the  topics  suitable  for  and  pleasing  to  ladies' 
ears  carefully  culled  and  adroitly  handled.  To  amuse 
and  entertain  was  their  main  object.  Erudite  disserta 
tions  upon  science  and  literature  ;  abstruse  arguments 
-  whatever  resembled  a  moral  thesis,  a  political,  reli 
gious,  or  philosophical  lecture  met  with  the  sure  ban  of 
ridicule  from  them,  as  from  the  fair  whose  devoted 
Cavaliers  they  were.  If  they  laughed,  when  it  was  safe 
and  not  impolitic  to  do  so,  at  the  ponderous  elocution 
of  the  Northern  barrister,  they  marvelled  exceedingly 
more  at  Mabel's  indulgence  of  his  attentions.  That  a 
girl,  who,  in  virtue  of  her  snug  fortune  and  attractive 
face,  her  blood  and  her  breeding,  might,  as  they  put  it> 
have  the  "  pick  of  the  county,"  if  she  wanted  a  hus 
band,  should  lend  a  willing  ear  to  the  pompous  plati 
tudes,  the  heavy  rolling  periods  of  this  alien  to  her 
native  State  —  a  man  without  grace  of  manner  or 
beauty  —  in  their  nomenclature,  "  a  solemn  prig,"  de 
fied  all  ingemdty  of  explanation,  was  an  increasing 
wonder  outlasting  the  prescribed  nine  days.  He  rode 
with  the  ill  assurance  of  one  who,  accustomed  to  the 
nawdust  floor,  treadmill  round,  and  enclosing  walls  of  a 
city  riding-Bchool,  was  bewildered  by  the  unequal  roads 
*nd  free  air  of  the  breezy  country.  He  talked  learn 
edly  of  hur'ingj  quoting  written  authorities  upon  thif 
or  that  point,  of  whom  the  unenlightened  Virginiaiif 


WAJS&AJL.  1S5 

had  nevei  heard,  much  less  read ;  equipped  himself 
for  the  sport  in  a  bewildering  arsenal  of  new-fangled 
guns,  game-bags,  shot-pouches,  and  powder-horns,  with 
numerous  belts,  diagonal,  perpendicular,  and  horizontal, 
and  in  the  field  carried  his  gun  d  la  Winkle ;  never,  bj 
any  happy  accident,  brought  down  his  bird,  but  was 
continually  outraging  sporting  rules  by  firing  out  of 
time,  and  flushing  coveys  prematurely  by  unseasonable 
talking  and  precipitate  strides  in  advance  of  his  dis 
gusted  companions 

Yet  he  was  not  a  f ooL  In  the  discussion  of  graver 
matters — politics,  law,  and  history — that  arose  in  the 
smoking-room,  he  was  not  to  be  put  down  by  more 
fluent  tongues ;  demolished  sophistry  by  solid  reason 
ing,  impregnable  assertions,  and  an  array  of  facts  that 
might  be  prolix,  but  was  always  formidable — in  short, 
sustained  fully  the  character  ascribed  to  him  by  hia 
brother-in-law,  of  a  "  thoroughly  sensible  fellow." 

"No  genius,  I  allow  I"  Mr.  Aylett  would  add,  in 
speaking  of  his  wife's  bantling  among  his  compatriots, 
u  but  a  man  whose  industry  and  sound  practical  knowl 
edge  of  every  branch  of  his  profession  will  make  for 
him  the  fortune  and  name  genius  rarely  wins." 

With  the  younger  ^dies,  his  society  was,  it  is  super 
fluous  to  observe,  at  the  lowest  premium  civility  and 
aative  kindliness  of  disposition  would  permit  them  ta 
declare  by  the  nameless  and  innumerable  methods  in 
which  th3  deai  creatures  are  proficient  To  Boea  Tmz# 


126  WAJSBAUL 

well  lie  could  not  be  anything  better  than  a  target  for 
the  arrows  of  her  satire,  or  the  whetstone,  npon  th« 
un}  ielding  surface  of  which  she  sharpened  them.  But 
•dhe  shewed  her  prudential  foresight  in  never  laughing 
at  Min  when  out  of  his  sight,  and  in  Mabel's.  AJ 
long  ago  as  the  night  of  Mr.  Aylett's  wedding-party  at 
Ridgeley,  her  sharp  eyes  had  seen,  or  she  fancied  they 
did,  that  the  hum-drum  groomsman  was  mightily  cap- 
*-ivated  by  the  daughter  of  the  house,  and  she  had 
Uivined  that  Mrs.  Aylett's  clever  ruses  for  throwing 
the  two  together  were  the  outworks  of  her  design  for 
uniting,  by  a  double  bond,  the  houses  of  Dorrance  and 
Aylett.  She  knew,  furthermore,  that  Herbert  Dorrance 
had  travelled  with  the  Ridgeley  family  for  three  weeks 
in  October,  and  that  he  had  now  been  domesticated  at 
the  homestead  for  ten  days.  Mrs.  Aylett's  show  of 
fondness  for  him  was  laughable,  considering  what  an 
uninteresting  specimen  of  masculinity  he  was ;  but  the 
handsome  dame  was  too  worldly-wise,  too  sage  a  judge 
of  quuipro  quo,  to  entice  him  to  waste  so  much  of  the 
time  he  was  addicted  to  announcing  was  money  to 
aim,  for  the  sake  of  a  good  so  intangible  as  sisterly 
ientimentality. 

Unless  there  were  ttome  substantial  and  remunera 
tive  ulterior  object  to  be  gained  by  his  tarrying  in  the 
neighborhood,  cunning  floea  believed  that  "  dear  Ber 
tie  "  would  have  been  packed  off  to  Buffalo,  or  what 
ever  outlandish  place  he  lived  in,  BO  soon  a0  the  bridal 


WAB&A1L.  127 

festivities  were  over,  and  not  showed  his  straw-colored 
whiskers  again  in  Virginia  in  three  years,  at  least,  in- 
Bteac  of  running  dowr  to  the  plantation  every  three 
months. 

"  If  such  an  ingredient  as  the  compound,  double- 
listilled  es&ence  of  flatness  is  to  be  infused  into  the 
wassail-cup,  it  is  he  who  will  supply  it ! "  thought  the 
spicy  damsel,  with  a  bewitching  shrug  of  the  plump 
shoulder  nearest  him,  while  engaged  in  a  lively  play  of 
words  with  a  gentleman  on  her  other  hand.  "  What 
can  possess  Mabel  to  encourage  him  systematically  ir» 
her  decorous  style,  passes  my  powers  of  divination. 
Maybe  she  means  to  use  him  acs  a  poultice  for  her 
bruised  heart.  In  that  case,  insipidity  would  be  no 
objection." 

Mabel  had  not  the  air  of  one  whose  heart  is  bruised 
or  torn.  That  she  had  gained  'in  queenliness  within 
the  past  year  was  not  evidence  of  austerity  or  the  cal 
lousness  that  ensues  upon  the  healing  of  a  wound. 
The  Ayletts  were  a  stately  race,  and  the  few  who,  while 
she  was  in  her  teens,  had  carped  at  her  lack  of  ^ncte 
because  of  her  disposition  to  choose  friends  from  the 
walks  of  life  lower  than  her  own,  and  criticised  as  un 
becoming  the  playful  familiarity  that  caused  under 
lings  and  plebeians  —  the  publicans  and  sinners  of  the 
aristocrat's  creed  —  to  worship  the  ground  on  which 
she  trod  —  the  censors  in  the  court  of  etiquette  eea- 
ferred  upon  her  altered  demeanor  the  patent  of  thcii 


WASSAIL. 

approbation,  averring,  fcr  the  thousandth  time,  that 
good  blood  would  assert  itself  in  the  long  run  and 
bring  forth  the  respectable  fruits  of  refinement,  self 
appreciation,  and  condescension.  The  change  hai 
come  over  her  by  perceptible,  but  not  violent,  stagea 
of  progression,  dating  —  Mrs.  Button  saw  with  pain; 
Cosa,  with  enforced  respect  —  from  the  sunset  hour  in 
whicn  she  had  read  her  brother's  sentence  of  condem 
nation  upon  her  then  betrothed,  now  estranged,  lover. 
After  that  one  evening,  she  had  not  striven  to  concea) 
herself  and  her  hurt  in  solitude.  Neither  had  she  bor 
rowed  from  desperation  a  brazen  helmet  to  hide  th« 
forehead  the  cruel  letter  had,  for  a  brief  space,  laid 
low  in  the  dust  of  anguished  humiliation. 

If  a  whisper  of  her  disappointment  and  the  attend 
ant  incidents  crept  through  the  ranks  of  her  associates, 
it  died  away  for  want  of  confirmation  in  her  clear 
level-lidded  eyes,  elastic  footfall  and  the  willingness 
and  frequency  with  which  she  appeared  and  played 
her  part  in  the  various  scenes  of  gayety  that  made  the 
winter  succeeding  her  brother's  marriage  one  long  to 
be  remembered  by  the  plecvsure-seekers  of  the  vicinity, 
She  had  not  disdained  the  assistance  of  her  sister-in- 
law's  judgment  and  experience  in  the  choice  of  the 
dresses  that  were  to  grace  these  merry-makings,  and, 
thanks  to  her  own  naturally  excellent  taste,  now  tacitly 
disputed  the  palm  of  elegant  attire  with  that  lady. 
Her  ChrUtmaft  costnme,  which,  in  many  othert  of  hei 


13* 


age,,  would  have  baen  objected  to  by  critical  fashionista, 
as  old-maidisL.  and  grave,  yet  set  off  her  pale  complex 
ion  —  none  of  the  Aylette  were  rosy  after  they  reached 
man's  or  woman's  estate  —  and  heightened  her  d<i* 
tingut  bearing  into  regal  grace.  Yet  it  was  only  a 
heavy  black  silk,  rich  and  glossy  as  satin,  cut,  as  waa 
then  the  universal  rule  of  evening  dresa,  tolerably  low 
in  tho  neck,  with  short  sleeves  ;  bunches  of  pomegranate- 
blossoms  and  buds  for  breast  and  shoulder-knots,  and 
among  the  classic  braids  of  her  dark  hair  a  half  -wreath 
of  the  same, 

She  had  the  valuable  gift  of  sitting  still  without 
stiffness,  and  not  fidgetting  with  fan,  bouquet,  or  hand 
kerchief,  as  she  listened  or  talked.  Kosa's  mercurial 
temperament  betrayed  itself,  every  instant,  in  the 
bird-like  turn  of  her  small  head,  the  fluttering  or 
chafing  of  her  brown  fingers,  and  not  unfrequently  by 
an  impatient  stamp,  or  other  movement  of  her  foot 
that  exposed  fairy  toe  and  instep.  Contemplation  of 
the  one  rested  and  refreshed  the  observer  ;  of  the 
other,  amused  and  excited  him.  Mr.  Dorrance's  phleg- 
inatic  nature  found  supreme  content  in  dwelling  upon 
the  incarnation  of  patrician  tranquillity  at  his  right 
hand,  and  he  regarded  the  actions  of  his  frisk  j  would- 
be  tormentor  very  much  as  a  placid,  well-gorged  sal 
mon  would  survey,  from  his  bed  of  ease  upon  the  bot 
torn  of  a  stream,  the  gyrations  of  a  painted  dragon  fly 
overhead. 


WAJS&A1L. 

A  lull  in  the  general  conversation  —  the  reaction 
after  a  hearty  laugh  at  a  happy  repartee  —  gave  othen 
besides  Mabel  the  opportunity  of  profiting  by  hit 
learned  remarks. 

"  But  does  not  that  seem  to  you  a  short-sighted  pol 
icy,"  he  was  urging  upon  his  auditor,  with  the  assist 
ance  of  a  thumb  and  forefinger  of  one  hand,  joined  as 
upon  a  pinch  of  snuff,  and  tapping  the  centre  of  the 
other  palm  ;  "  does  not  that  appear  inexcusable  profli 
gacy  of  extravagance,  which  fells  and  consumes  whole 
surface  forests  of  magnificent  trees  —  virgin  growth 
-  (I  use  the  term  as  it  is  usually  applied,  although, 
philosophically  considered,  it  is  inaccurate)  giants, 
vvhich  centuries  will  not  replace,  instead  of  seeking 
beneath  the  superficial  covering  of  mould,  nourishing 
these,  for  the  exhaustless  riches,  carboniferous  remains 
of  antediluvian  woods,  hidden  in  the  bowels  of  youi 
mountains,  and  underlying  your  worn-out  fields?" 

Kosa  was  shaking  with  internal  laughter  —  she 
would  give  no  escape  except  through  her  dancing 
eyes. 

Indeed,  Mr.  Dorrance's  was  the  only  staid  counte 
nance  there,  as  Mabel  said,  pleasantly,  moving  her 
chaii  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  ring,  "I,  for  one, 
:!nd  the  combustion  of  the  upper  forest- growth  too 
powerful,  just  at  this  instant.  This  ir  a  genuine 
Ohristmas-storm  —  is  it  not  ?  Listen  to  the  wind  ? " 

ITJ  the  stillness  enjoined  by  her  gesture,  the  growl  ol 


WASSAIL.  131 

the  blast  in  the  chimney  and  in  the  grove ;  the  groan 
ing,  Sapping,  and  creaking  of  the  tree  tranches;  the 
pelth  g  sleet  and  the  rattle  of  casements  *?!  rrar  tSw 
house  brought  to  the  least  imaginative  a  picture  of 
out-door  desolatron  and  fireside  comfort  that  prolonged 
the  hush  of  attention.  Tom  Barksdale's  pretty  wife 
slipped  her  hand  covertly  into  his  tight  grasp,  and  their 
smile  was  of  mutual  congratulation  that  they  were 
brightly  and  warmly  housed  and  together.  Rosa,  pre 
ternatnrally  grave  and  quiet,  lapsed  into  a  profound 
study  of  the  mountain  of  red-hot  embers.  Several 
young  ladies  shuddered  audibly,  as  well  as  visibly,  and 
were  reassured  by  a  whispered  word,  01  the  slightest 
conceivable  movement  of  their  gallants'  chairs  nearer 
their  own. 

"  I  think  we  have  the  grandest  storms  at  Ridgeley 
that  visit  our  continent,"  resumed  Mabel  thoughtful! y, 
"'  I  suppose  because  the  house  stands  so  high.  The 
vvind  never  sounds  to  me  anywhere  else  as  it  doeu 
here  on  winter  nights." 

Yielding  to  the  weird  attraction  of  the  scene  in 
voked  by  her  fancy,  she  arose  and  walked  to  the 
window  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  hall,  pulling 
adde  the  curtain  that  she  might  peer  *nto  the  wild 
darkness.  The  crimson  light  of  the  burning  logs 
and  the  lamp  rays  threw  a  strongly  denned  shadow 
of  her  figure  upon  the  piazza  floor,  d'ttinct  as  that 
projected  by  a  aolar  microscope  upon  a  sheeted  wall ; 


133 


i*ent  loijg,  searching  rays  into  the  austj  Call  tf  tht 
snow,  past  the  spot  from  which  she  had  her  Last 
glimpse  of  Frederic  Chilton,  so  many,  many  monthi 
agone,  showing  the  black  outline  of  the  gate  where 
he  had  looked  back  to  lift  his  hat  to  her. 

What  was  there  in  the  wintry  night  and  thick 
tempest  to  recall  the  warmth  and  odor  of  that  moist 
September  morning,  the  smell  of  the  dripping  roses 
overhead,  the  balmy  humidity  of  every  breath  she 
drew  'i  What  in  her  present  companion  that  remind 
ed  her  of  the  loving  clasp  that  had  thrilled  her  heart 
into  palpitation?  the  earnest  depth  of  the  eyes  that 
held  hers  during  the  one  sharp,  yet  sweet  moment  of 
parting  —  eyes  that  pledged  the  fealty  of  her  lover's 
soul,  and  demanded  hers  then  and  forever?  His  con 
science  might  have  been  sullied  by  crimes  more  heinous 
than  those  charged  upon  him  by  her  brother  and  hu 
friends  ;  he  might  —  he  had — let  her  go  easily,  as  one 
resigns  his  careless  hold  upon  a  paltry,  unprized  toy ; 
but  when  her  hand  had  rested  thus  in  his,  and  his  paa- 
sionate  regards  penetrated  her  soul,  he  loved  her,  alone 
and  entirely  !  She  would  fold  this  conviction  to  hei 
torpid  heart  for  a  little  while  before  she  turned  herself 
away  thially  from  the  memories  of  that  love-summer  and 
battle-autumn  of  her  existence.  If  it  arousrd  in  the 
skilled  thing  some  slight  pangs  of  sentiency,  it  would 
do  her  no  hurt  to  realize  through  these  that  it  bad 
onoe  beeri  alive. 


WAJ8&A12*  131 

She  saw  a  shadow  approaching  to  join  i  fcelf  to  hen 
upon  the  wliitened  floor  without,  before  Mr.  Doirance 
interrupted  her  reverie  by  words. 

"  The  fury  of  the  tempest  you  admire  proves  its  p» 
ternity,"  he  said,  with  a  manifest  effort  at  lightness. 
"  It  emanates  from  the  vast  magazines  of  frost,  snow, 
and  wintry  wind  that  lie  far  to  the  north-east  even  of 
my  home,  and  that  is  in  a  region  you  would  think 
drear  and  inhospitable  after  the  more  clement  airs  of 
of  your  native  State." 

"  "We  have  very  cold  weather  in  Virginia  sometimes," 
returned  Mabel,  still  scanning  the  sentinel  gate-posta, 
and  the  pyramidal  arbor-vitas  trees  flanking  them. 

Her  gaze  was  a  mournful  farewell,  but  she  neglect 
ed  none  of  the  amenities  of  hospitality.  She  was  used 
to  talking  commonplaces. 

"  We  feel  it  all  the  more,  too,  on  account  of  the 
mildness  of  the  greater  part  of  the  winter,"  she  sub 
joined. 

"  Allow  me  !"  said  the  other,  looping  back  the  cur 
tain  she  had  until  now  held  in  her  hand.  "  Whereaa 
our  systems  are  braced  by  a  more  uniform  temperature 
to  endure  the  severity  of  our  froste.  and  high,  keeu 
blasts." 

"  I  suppose  so,"  assented  Mabel,  mechanically,  and 
unconscious  as  himself  that  meaning  glances  were  stol 
en  at  them  from  the  fireside  circle,  while  the  hum 
»nd  conversation  was  continuous  ard  louder,  for  th* 


WASSAIL. 

good-natured  intent  on  tke  speakers'  part  *.o  ftftoid  th« 
supposed  lovers  the  chance  of  carrying  on  their  dia 
logue  unheard. 

"  But  our  houses  are  very  comfortable  —  often  very 
beautiful,"  Mr.  Dorrance  persevered,  keeping  to  the 
•veent  of  his  game,  as  a  trained  pointer  scours  a  stubble- 
field,  narrowing  his  beat  at  every  circuit ;  "  and  the 
hearts  of  those  who  live  in  them  are  warm  and  con 
stant.  It  ie  not  always  true  that 


'The oold  in  clia*  ueooldia  btoo*; 
Their  lore  can  nazce  desenre  th«  naa 


I  have  thought  sometimes  that  that  feeling  is  strongest 
and  most  enduring,  the  demonstration  of  which  ia 
guarded  and  infrequent,  as  the  deepest  portion  of  the 
channel  is  the  most  quiet." 

If  his  philosophical  and  scientific  talk  were  heavy 
arid  solid,  his  poetry  and  metaphors  were  ponderous 
and  labored.  Yet  Mabel  listened  to  him  now,  neither 
facing  nor  avoiding  him,  looking  down  at  her  hands, 
'aid,  one  above  the  other,  upon  the  window-sill,  the 
Image  of  maidenly  and  courteous  attention. 

Why  should  she  affect  diffidence,  or  seek  to  escape 
what  she  had  foreseen  for  weeks,  and  made  no  effort  to 
ward  off  ?  She  had  come  to  the  conclusion  in  October 
iliat  Herbert  Dorrance  would,  when  the  forms  he  con 
sidered  indispensable  to  regular  courtship  had  been 
through  with,  ask  her  to  marry  him,  and  coolly 


WAJSSJJTL.  132 

taken  her  resolution  to  accept  him.  This  morning,  on 
the  reception  of  a  handsome  Christmas  gift  from  him, 
and  discovering  in  his  actions  something  more  pointed 
than  his  customary  punctilious  devoirs,  and  in  his  dil- 
acticism  the  outermost  of  the  closing  circle  of  pursuit, 
Bbe  had  furthermore  concluded  that  his  happy  thought 
was  to  celebrate  the  festal  season  by  his  betrothnent. 
She  was  quite  ready  for  the  declaration,  which,  she 
anticipated,  would  be  pompous  and  formal.  She  would 
have  excused  him  from  "  doing  "  the  poetical  part  of 
it ;  but,  since  it  was  on  the  programme,  it  was  not  her 
province  to  interfere. 

"  I  am  no  enthusiast,"  he  next  averred. — Rosa  would 
have  said,  very  unnecessarily  —  "  the  tricks  of  sighing 
lovers  are  beyond — or  beneath — my  imitation .  I  could 
not '  write  a  sonnet  to  my  mistress'  eyebrow,'  or  move 
her  to  tearful  pity  by  sounding  declarations  of  my  ad- 
>ration  of  her  peerless  charms,  and  my  anguish  at  the 
oare  imagination  of  the  possibility  that  these  wonHd 
ever  be  another's.  But,  so  far  as  the  earnest  affection 
and  sincere  esteem  of  an  honest  man  can  satisfy  the 
requirements  of  a  good  woman's  heart,  yours  shall  be 
filled,  Mabel,  if  you  will  be  my  wife.  I  have  admired 
you  from  the  first  day  of  our  meeting.  For  six  months 
1  have  been  truly  attached  to  you,  and  seriously  medi 
tated  tliis  declaration.  Your  brother  is  satisfied  with 
the  exhibit  I  have  made  of  my  affairs  ai*d  my  prospects, 
and  sanction*  my  addresses.  1  can  maiutain  you  more 


136  WA&8AJCL. 

thai,  comfortably,  and  it  shall  be  one  of  the  principal 
aims  of  my  life  to  consult  your  welfare  in  all  my  plani 
for  my  own  advancement.  I  have  been  settled  in  the 
large  and  flourishing  city  of  Albany  about  seven  year% 
and  —  ignoring  the  trammels  of  mock  humility,  let 
me  Bay  to  you  —  have,  within  that  period,  gained  to  a 
flattering  extent  the  confidence  of  the  most  respecta 
ble  portion  of  the  community ;  have  built  up  an  ex 
cellent  and  growing  business  connection,  and  secured 
the  entree  of  the  best  society  there.  These  are  the 
pecuniary  and  social  aspects  of  the  alliance  I  propose 
for  your  consideration.  Through  my  sister,  and  by 
means  of  the  intimate  association  into  which  her  mar 
riage  with  your  brother  has  drawn  you  and  myself, 
you  have  been  enabled,  within  the  twelvemonth  that 
has  elapsed  since  our  introduction,  one  to  the  other,  to 
learn  whatever  you  wished  to  know  with  respect  to  my 
personal  character,  my  tastes,  temper,  and  habits.  It 
has  given  me  heartfelt  pleasure  to  discover  that  these 
are,  in  the  main,  analogous  to  your  own.  I  have  built 
upon  this  similarity  —  or  harmony  would  be  the  better 
word  —  sanguine  hopes  of  our  future  happiness,  should 
you  see  your  way  clear  to  accept  my  proffered  hand, 
consent  to  link  your  future  with  mine." 

"  I  beg  to  lay  the  'ouse  in  Walcot  Square,  the  busi 
Dess  and  myself,  before  Miss  Summerson,  for  her  ac 
ceptance,"  said  magnanimous  Mr.  Gupt>y,  thus  clinch 


WAJS8ATL  187 

Ing  his  declaration  that  "the  image  he  had  supposed 
was  eradicated  from  his  'art  wag  not  eradicated." 

It  was  more  in  keeping  with  Rosa's  character  than 
Mabel's  to  recollect  the  comic  scene  in  the  book  they 
had  read  together  lately,  but  the  latter  did  remembe* 
it  at  this  instant,  and  despite  the  momentous  issues 
involved  in  her  immediate  action,  was  strongly  tempted 
to  laugh  in  her  wooer's  solemn  face. 

Then  —  so  abrupt  and  fearful  are  the  transitions 
from  the  extremes  of  one  emotion  to  another  —  arose 
before  her  another  picture.  As  in  a  dissolving  view, 
she  beheld  herself  walking  with  Frederic  Chilton  ID 
the  moonlighted  alleys  of  the  garden ;  midsummei 
flowers  blooming  to  the  right  and  left,  her  head  droop 
ing,  in  shy  happiness,  as  the  lily-bell  bows  to  shed  its 
freight  of  dew ;  his  face  glowing  with  the  ardor  ol 
verbal  confession  of  that  he  had  already  sought  to  ex 
press  by  letter  —  heard  his  fervent,  pleading  murmur, 
"  Mabel !  look  up,  my  darling !  and  tell  me  again 
that  you  will  not  send  me  away  beggared  and  starving. 
I  cannot  yet  believe  in  the  reality  of  my  bliss ! " 

These  were  the  love-words  of  an  u  enthusiast "  — 
these 

The  vision  vanished  at  the  short,  hard  breath  she 
drew  in  unclasping  her  locked  hands,  and  lifting  her 
jjrave,  tranquil  eyes  to  the  level  of  her  suitor's. 

"  I  will  follow  your  examplt  in  repudiating  spunouf 
Mr.  Don-fence,  Yl  believe  you  to  be  a  good 


WAA8AIL. 

true  mair  and  that  the  attachment  you  profess  for  mt 
is  sincere.  I  believe,  moreover,  that  my  chances  of  se 
curing  real  peace  of  mind  will  be  fairer,  should^Ijsonv 
>alt"  myself  to  your  guardianship,  than  if  I  were  to  srir- 
render  my  affections  to  the  keeping  of  one  whose  vows 
were  mo. ?e  impassioned,  who,  professing  to  adore  me. at. 
a  divinity,  should  yet  be  destitute,  of  your  high  moral 
principle  and  stainless  honor.  When  I  was  younger 
and  more  rash  in  judgment  and  feeling,  I  was  led 
into  a  sad  mistake  by  the  evidence  of  eye,  ear,  and  a 
girl's  imagination.  I  ought  to  tell  you  this,  if  you 
have  not  already  heard  the  story.  I  will  not  deceive 
you  into  the  persuasion  that  I  can  ever  feel  for  you,  or , 
any  other  man,  the  love,  or  \vhat  I  thought  was  love, 
i  knew  in  the  few  brief  weeks  of  my  early  betrothal. 
Hut  you  must  know  how  that  ended,  and  I  have  no  de 
sire  to  repeat  the  mad  experiment  of  risking  my  earthly 
all  upon  one  throw  of  fate.  If  friendship — j£j&^ 
teem,  and  the  resolve  to  show  myself  a  worthy  recipi 
ent  of  your  generous  confidence  —  will  content  you, 
else  shall  be  as  you  wish." 

In  her  determination  to  be  candid,  to  leave  him  in 
Sio  uncertainty  as  to  her  actual  sentiments,  she  had 
concerted  a  response  but  a  degree  less  stilted  than 
Hiip  proposal.  She  would  have  been  ashamed  of  it  had 
do  appeared  less  gratified. 

ills  dull  eyes  brightened;  his  face  flushed  and 
Beamed  with  unfeigned  delight,  and  in  his  tr*msport 


WAJ3&AZL.  139 

he  said  the  most  natural  a  ad  graceful  thing  that  evei 
escaped  him  during  his  wooing. 

"  I  am  content  I  The  second  love  of  Mabel  Aylett 
raust  ever  be  more  to  me  than  the  first  of  any  other 
woman ! " 

True,  he  nearly  spoiled  all  the  next  minute,  by  pro 
ducing  from  his  pocket  a  wee  velvet  case,  from  which 
he  extracted  a  valuable  diamond  ring,  and  proceeded, 
then  and  there,  in  the  shadow  of  the  accommodat 
ing  curtain,  to  fit  it  upon  her  finger.  He  had  fore 
seen  that  she  would  not  be  hardly  won,  and  with 
characteristic  providence  had  prepared  himself  for 
the  event. 

The  blood  leaped  to  Mabel's  temples  and  the  fire  to 
her  eye,  at  the  prompt  seal  set  by  the  practical  non- 
enthusiast  upon  the  contract,  but  she  bit  her  lip,  and 
submitted  after  a  second  of  thought.  He  owed  his. 
exemption  from  rebuke  to  her  memory  of  his  latest 
utterance.  She  could  not  mistake  the  tone  of  genuine 
feeling,  and  she  overlooked  the  breach  of  taste  that 
followed  ;  treasured  up  the  heart-saying  as  one  of  the 
few  souvenirs  she  cared  to  preserve  of  his  courtship. 

a  If  he  is  content,  I  need  not  be  miserable,"  was  the 
consolatory  reflection  with  which  she  took  upon  herself 
her  new  and  binding  obligations 


CHAPTER  VIEL 

/HI   FACE  AT  THE  WINDOW. 

'KS.  AYLETT  was  in  her  best  feather  tha* 
night ;  the  suave  chatelaine,  the  dutiful  con 
sort ;  the  tactful  warder  of  the  interesting  pair 
whose  movements  she  had  not  ceased  to  watch 
from  the  moment  they  took  their  places  with  the  party 
about  the  fire-place  in  the  hall  until  she,  alone  of  all 
the  company,  saw  Herbert  Dorrance  draw  the  dia 
mond  signet  from  its  receptacle,  and  the  sparkle  of 
the  jewel  as  it  slipped  to  its  abiding-place  upon 
Mabel's  finger. 

Lest  something  unusual  in  their  look  or  behavior 
should  excite  the  suspicions  of  their  companions, 
make  them  the  focus  of  inquisitive  observation  and 
whispered  remark,  the  diplomate  passed  again  into  the 
hall,  sweeping  along  in  advance  of  them  when  they 
deserted  their  curtained  recess,  and  would  have  joined 
the  rest  of  the  company. 

"Are  we  to  have  no  dancing  this  evening !"  shs 
taid,  in  hospitable  solicitude.  "  It  wants  an  hour  yet  of 

(140) 


THSFAGMATTHS  VZ2WOW. 


supper-time.  The  exercise  will  do  you  all  good>  par 
ticularly  the  young  ladies,  who  have  not  stirred  beyond 
the  piazzas  to-day.  I  have  been  waiting  for  an  invit*- 
tbn  to  play  for  yon,  but  my  desire  for  your  welfare 
lias  overcome  native  humility.  Will  you  accept  my 
services  as  your  musician  ?  " 

The  suggestion  was  acceded  to  by  acclamation,  and 
-virile  one  gentleman  led  her  to  the  grand  piano  which 
stood  between  the  front  windows  of  the  drawing-room, 
and  another  opened  a  music-book  which  she  named,  a 
*et  was  quickly  formed  in  the  long  apartment,  the 
soberer  portion  of  the  crowd  ranging  themselves  along 
the  walls  as  lookers-on. 

Mrs.  Aylett  was  a  proficient  in  dance-music.  She 
never  volunteered  to  perform  that  which  she  was  not 
conscious  of  doing  well.  She  had  occasionally  taken 
the  floor  for  a  single  quadrille,  to  oblige  a  favored 
gusst  —  always  a  middle-aged  or  elderly  gentleman 
—  or  moved  through  a  cotillion  with  ease  and  spirit  aa 
partner  to  her  husband,  but  she  declined  dancing,  as  a 
nil  3;  was  altogether  indifferent  to  the  amusement, 
wh  le  she  delighted  to  oblige  her  friends  by  playing 
for  them  whenever  and  as  long  as  they  required  her 
aid  Without  saying,  in  so  many  words,  that  she  dis 
approved  of  the  waltz  for  unmarried  ladies,  and 
frowned  upon  promiscuous  danciig  for  matrons,  sh« 
yet  managed  to  regulate  the  social  code  vf  the  neigh- 


THE  FAOE  JLT  ISE  WINDOW. 

borhood  in  both   these  respects,  was  imitated 
quoted  ay  the  most  discreet  of  chaperones  and  belles. 

Mr,  Dorrance  was  Mabel's  partner ;  Kosa  stood  ap 
with  Randolph  Harrison,  a  gay  youth,  whc.  was  hex 
latest  attach^  /  Tom  Barksdale  lei  out  a  blushing,  ye! 
sprightly  school-girl,  and  Imogene  was  his  vis-a-vis  ^ 
supported  by  an  ancient  admirer,  who  had  comforted 
himself  for  her  preference  for  another  man  by  falling 
in  love  with  a  prettier  woman.  The  room  was  deco 
rated  with  garlands  of  running  cedar  —  a  vine  known 
in  higher  latitudes  as  "  ground-pine,"  and  which  car 
peted  acres  of  the  Ridgeley  woods.  The  vases  on  the 
mantel  were  filled  with  holly,  and  other  gayly  colored 
berry  boughs,  while  roses,  lemon  and  orange  blossoms, 
mignonette  and  violets  from  the  conservatory  were  set 
about  on  tables  and  brackets,  blending  fresher  and 
more  wholesome  odors  with  those  of  the  Parisian  ex 
tracts  wafted  from  the  ladies'  dresses  and  handker* 
chiefs. 

Mi\  Aylett  had  —  accidentally,  it  would  seem  —  hia 
wife  understood  that  the  action  was  premeditated  — 
stationed  himself  at  an  angle  to  the  piano  that  allowed 
him  a  fair  view  of  her,  and  d?d  not  grudge  the  merri 
est  bachelor  there  his  share  of  enjoyment,  while  he 
could  keep  furtive  watch  upc  n  the  changeful  counte 
nance,  the  Sappho-like  head,  and  the  \lelicate  handi 
which  one  could  have  thought  made  the  music,  rather 
than  did  the  obedient  keys  they  touched.  The  wedded 


THE  FACE  AT  iEB  WINDOW. 


lovers  Lad  Uste  and  pride  in  equal  proportions,  and  a 
parade  of  their  satisfaction  in  one  another  for  the  edifi 
cation  or  amusement  of  indifferent  spectators  would 
have  been  revolting  to  both,  but  the  ray  that  sped  from 
half  -averted  eyes,  from  time  to  time,  and  was  returned 
by  a  kindling  glance,  also  shot  sidelong  beneath 
dropped  lashes,  said  more  to  each  other  than  would  a 
quarto  volume  of  stereotyped  protestations  and  care&s- 
es,  such  a?  T3m  Barksdale  dealt  out  profusely  to  his 
beauteous  Imogene.  Clearly,  neither  Mr.  nor  Mis. 
Winston  Aylett  was  fond  of  sugar-candy. 

Mabel's  faith  in  the  sincerity  of  her  sister-in-law** 
agreeable  sayings  and  ways  was  not  invariable  nor 
absolute.  She  liked  her  after  a  certain  fashion  ;  got 
along  swimmingly  with  her,  the  amazed  public  decided 
"  so  much  better  than  could  have  been  expected,  and 
than  was  customary  with  relations  by  marriage,  and  not 
by  descent  ;  "  yet  her  more  upright  nature  and  different 
training  helped  her  to  detect  the  petty  artifices  witL 
which  Clara  cajoled  the  unwary,  moulded  the  plastic 
at  her  will.  But  she  had  never  questioned  the  reality 
of  her  love  for  Winston.  As  a  wife,  her  deportment 
was  exemplary,  her  devotion  too  freely  and  consistently 
rendered  to  have  its  spring  in  policy  or  affectation, 
She  gloried  in  her  handsome,  courtly  lord,  and  in  hi* 
attachment  for  herself.  Whether  she  would  have  es 
pied  the  same  causes  for  loving  exultat'on  in  hin*?  had 
be  been  a  poor  clergymac  or  merchant's  clerk,  was  ao 


144  THS  PAOB  AT  TBS  WHn)OW. 

irrelevant  consideration.  The  master  of  Kidgelej 
not  to  be  contemplated  apart  from  the  possessions  and 
dignities  that  were  his  inalienable  pedestal.  Clara 
Dorrance  was  a  clever  woman,  and  she  had  given  these 
•lire  weight  in  accepting  his  hand ;  and  they  may  h»v« 
had  their  influence  in  moving  her  to  unceasing,  yet 
unobtrusive  endeavor  to  make  herself  still  more  neces 
sary  to  his  happiness,  to  strengthen  her  hold  upon  him 
by  every  means  an  affectionate  and  beloved  wife  has 
t  her  command.  She  had  done  well  for  herself — she 
*ras  thinking  while  he  concluded  as  silently  within 
himself  that  the  slight  pensiveness  tempering  the  ex 
pressive  face  was  its  loveliest  dress. 

She  —  beautiful  and  penniless,  ambitious,  and  a 
devotee  of  pleasure  —  yet  dependent  for  food  and 
clothing  upon  her  mother's  life-interest  in  an  estate, 
not  one  penny  of  which  would  revert  to  her  children 
•.t  her  decease;  without  kindred  and  without  society 
*n  the  elegant  suburb  they  had  inhabited  for  four  or 
five  years,  might  have  been  elated  at  a  less  brilliant 
inatch  than  that  she  had  made.  The  u  best  people " 
of  the  aforesaid  suburb  were  exclusive ;  slww  to  form 
intimacies  with  their  unaccredited  neighbors,  and  very 
hasty  in  breaking  them  at  the  faintest  whiff  of  a  doubt 
ful  or  tainted  reputation.  And  of  the  second  best 
the  Dorrances  had  kept  themselves  clear.  Having 
met  and  captivated  her  wealthy  lover  on  a  rarely 
fortunate  summer  jaunt,  made  in  company  with  her 


PAOa  AT  TStt  WINDOW. 

elde&i  brother,  his  wife,  and  two  relatives  of  the 
last-named,  Clara  did  not  repel  him  or  disgust  the 
beet  people  of  Boxbury  by  indiscreet  raptures  over, 
3r  exhibition  of,  her  prize. 

"I  feel  with  yon  an  invincible  repugnance  te 
throwing  open  onr  hearts  to  the  inspection  of  th« 
unsympathizing  world,  at  the  most  sacred  moment 
of  our  lives,"  she  said,  in  stating  her  preference  for 
a  quiet  morning-wedding,  a  family  breakfast,  and 
instant  departure  upon  their  bridal-trip.  "If  I  be- 
gin  to  invite  my  friends  and  neighbors,  our  cottage 
—  lawn  and  garden  included — would  not  contain 
them,  and  after  all  were  asked  whom  I  could  remem 
ber,  as  many  more  wonld  be  mortally  offended  at 
being  forgotten." 

The  bridegroom  gladly  acquiescing,  with  a  com 
pliment  to  her  womanly  delicacy,  the  ceremony  waa 
performed  in  the  presence  of  the  bride's  nearest  rel 
atives  ;  an  elegant  repast  was  served,  at  which  the 
Dorrance  plate  made  an  imposing  show,  and  Clara 
turned  her  back  upon  the  scenes  and  reminiscences  of 
her  past  life  to  commence  the  world  anew. 

Yes,  she  had  done  very  well  for  herself  —  how 
wonderfully  well  she  knew  Ijetter  than  did  any  one 
eke,  and  at  this  date  she  had  fresh  cause  for  self- 
gratulation.  Through  her,  Herbert,  her  favorite  bro 
ther,  was  likely  to  form  an  alliance  which  would  be 
a  timely  and  substantial  stepping-stone  to  his  ag> 


I  ^  THE  FAOS  AT  THB  WINDOW. 

gi-andizernent  and  wealth.  There  were  more  reasons 
why  she  should  hold  her  head  higher — why  the  blood 
should  clothe  her  cheek  with  a  richer  carmine,  and  a 
smile  encircle  the  month,  as  one  swift  glance  toot 
in  the  spacious,  luxurious  room,  thronged  with  well- 
dressed  aristocrats,  her  husband  the  stateliest,  most 
honored  of  them  all,  yet  her  fond  thrall;  the  splen 
did  apparel  in  which  his  wealth  had  bedecked  her, 
the  queen  of  the  scene  —  more  reasons,  I  say,  for  the 
ineffable  thrill  of  pleasure  that  coursed,  a  rapid,  in 
toxicating  stream,  through  her  veins,  than  grateful 
affection  for  the  author  of  all  these  goods.  With  a 
Sybarite's  dread  of  pain  and  loneliness,  she  seldom 
trusted  herself  to  look  at  the  dark  curtain  in  the 
background,  against  which  her  latter-day  glories  shone 
the  more  dazzlingly.  But  to-night  she  felt  safe  upon 
her  throne  —  sat,  the  lady  of  kingdoms,  sultana  in 
the  realm  of  her  spouse's  heart  and  in  his  domain, 
and  could  stare  full  upon  the  past  —  could  measure, 
without  shuddering,  the  height  of  her  actual  and  as 
sumed  estate  above  — 

Mr.  Aylett  stepped  forward  in  haste  and  concern  at 
the  deadly  pallor  that  overspread  her  face  —  the  look 
of  horror,  fear,  loathing,  before  which  smile  and 
brightness  fled,  blasted  into  wretchedness.  The  revel 
lers  stopped  in  their  giddy  measure  at  the  discordant 
jangle,  preluding  a  dead  silence. 

Mabel,  chancing  in  the  evolutions  of  the  set  to  bt 


THE  FACE  AT  TES  WINDOW.  147 

nearest  the  window,  and  noting  the  directioi.  of  the 
fainting  woman's  eyes,  was  qnick  enough  to  se«  a 
shadow  flit  across  the  yellcir  square  of  light  upon  th« 
snowy  floor  of  the  portico  —  a  man's  shape,  as  *'t  ap 
peared  to  her,  crouching  and  slinking  cat  of  view  into 
the  darkness. 

"  She  saw  something,  or  somebody,  through  the 
window,  and  was  frightened,"  she  said,  in  a  low  voice, 
checking  Tom  Barksdale  and  another  gentleman,  who 
would  have  pressed  with  the  inconsiderate  crowd 
toward  the  senseless  figure  Mr.  Aylett  had  laid  upon 
the  sofa.  "  Will  you  see  what  it  was? " 

The  request  cleared  the  room  directly  of  all  the  men 
of  the  assembly,  with  the  exception  of  Winston  and 
Dr.  Eitchie,  a  young  physician,  who  was  superintend 
ing  the  administration  of  restoratives  to  Mrs.  Aylett. 

She  was  reviving  rapidly  when  the  search  party 
gave  in  their  report.  There  were  fresh  tracks  upon 
the  piazza,  and  these  they  had  traced  to  the  back  o* 
the  house,  losing  them  there  in  the  drifting  snow,  the 
wind  blowing  like  a  hurricane,  and  ploughing  what 
had  fallen  and  what  was  descecjiizjg  into  constantly 
^banging  heaps.  But  the  watch-dogs  had  been  un~ 
Chained,  and  four  of  the  negro  men  detailed  as  senti 
nels,  the  gentlemen  engaging  to  make  the  round  of  the 
premises  again  before  bed-time. 

The  Affect  of  thk  communicatioE  was  the  reverse  of 
tranquillizing  upon  the  patient.  Tbe  wild,  terrified 


14:8  THB  FAGS  AT  THS  WINDOW. 

look  in  her  eye  resembled  the  unreasoning  fear  oi 
lunacy  aa  she  seized  her  husband's  arm. 

"  Indeed,  indeed  they  must  not.  It  is  not  right  or 
safe  to  make  such  a  serious  matter  of  my  foolish 
nervousness.  I  am  not  sure  there  was  any  one  there ! 
It  was  probably  an  optical  delusion.  I  was  plunged 
in  a  reverie,  thinking  of  happy,  peaceful,  lovely 
things "  —  with  the  sickly  feint  of  a  meaning  smile 
into  his  face  — "  and,  happening  to  look  at  the  win 
dow,  I  fancied  that  I  saw "  —  with  all  her  self  -com 
mand  her  voice  failed  here,  and  she  put  her  hand 
before  her  eyes  for  a  moment  before  she  could  go  on — 
"  I  thought  I  saw  —  something  !  It  may  have  been  a 
human  face  —  it  may  have  been  the  shadow  of  the  cur 
tains,  or  the  reflection  of  the  lights  upon  the  glass ; 
but  it  startled  me,  appearing  so  abruptly.  Please  say 
no  more  about  it.  If  it  was  a  living  creature,  it  must 
have  been  one  of  the  servants,  tempted  by  curiosity  to 
peep  at  the  dancers." 

"  It  will  prove  to  be  a  costly  indulgence  to  him,  if  I 
can  discover  who  the  rascal  was,"  said  Mr.  Aylett,  de 
cisively.  "  I  would  not  have  had  you  so  startled  for 
the  worth  of  all  the  lazy  hounds  on  the  premises." 

His  wife  laid  her  hand  upon  his. 

'*  It  is  Christmas  night,  my  love,  and  the  poor  fellow 
i»  excusable.  He  showed  excellent  taste.  It  tras  • 
veiy  pretty  scene.  I  shall  not  soon  forgive  myself  for 
thi  owing  it  into  such  '  admired  disord er.'  Miss  Scott w-  •  - 


TUX  FAGS  AT  THIS  WINDOW.  U9 

[to  a  musical  spinster] — "  may  1  tax  your  politeneai 
BO  far  as  to  ask  you  to  take  my  seat  at  the  piano  ?  I 
aaiiot  go  to  my  room  for  a  few  minutes,"  raising  her 
finger  smilingly  to  her  displaced  ivy  wreath.  u  If  you 
won  Id  testify  your  tolerance  of  my  folly,  please  go  on 
with  your  amusement.  I  shall  be  encouraged  to  re 
turn  when  I  hear  the  music." 

Her  collected,  urbane  self  once  more,  she  took  her 
husband's  arm,  and  passed  through  the  opening  rankf 
of  her  friends,  bowing  to  this  side  and  that,  with 
apologetic  banter  and  graceful  words  of  regret  —  sti)- 
very  pale,  but  changed  in  no  other  respect. 

"  A  singular  episode  in  an  evening's  entertainment,* 
said  Mr.  Dorrance,  leading  Mabel  to  her  stand  in  the 
re-forming  set.  "  I  never  knew  Clara  to  succumb  be 
fore  to  any  type  of  syncope  or  asphyxia.  She  is  a 
woman  of  remarkable  nerve  and  courage.  And,  by 
the  way,  how  preposterous  is  the  common  use  of  tb,e 
word  'nervous.'  The  ablest  lexicographers  define  it 
as  i  strong,  well-strung,  full  of  nerve,'  whereas,  in  ordi 
nary  parlance,  it  has  come  to  signify  the  very  opposite 
of  these.  When  I  speak  of  a  nervous  speaker  or 
writer,  for  example,  what  do  1  mean  ?  " 

"  One  who  imbibes  uii wholesomely  large  quantitiei 
of  strum*  green  tea,  and  sees  hobgoblins  peering  at  her 
through  the  window-panes!"  said  Rosa,  sarcastically 
artier,  tripping  by  in  season  to  overhear  this  clause  of 
his  a  mail -talk. 


THE  VAO&  AT  TM&  WINDOW. 

Mabel's  imperturbable  good-breeding  prevented  em 
barrassment  or  resentment  at  the  interruption.  At 
heart,  she  was  vexed  that  Rosa  should  omit  no  oppor 
tunity  of  shooting  privily  and  audaciously  at  her  prao 
tical  admirer,  but  to  betray  her  appreciation  of  the  im 
pertinence  would  be  to  subject  herself  to  imputations 
of  sensitiveness  on  his  account. 

"  I  saw  the  hobgoblin  without  the  aid  of  green  tea," 
she  rejoined.  "  There  was  really  some  one  upon  the 
porch,  but  why  the  apparition  should  scare  Clara  out 
of  her  wits,  I  cannot  divine.  The  negro  is  an  incura 
ble  Paul  Pry,  and,  next  to  dancing  a  Christmas  jig 
himself,  is  the  pleasure  of  seeing  others  do  it." 

Mrs.  Aylett  verified  her  brother's  encomium  upon 
her  nerve  by  reappearing  in  the  sakx>n  by  the  time 
another  set  was  over,  and  just  befos*?  the  announce 
ment  of  supper,  radiant  and  self-possoaped,  prepared  to 
do  double  social  duty  to  atone  for  ti#>  Iright  she  had 
caused,  and  the  temporary  damp  her  woon  had  cast 
over  the  festivities. 

The  revel  went  joyously  forward — Csaristnias-gamei 
and  incantations,  the  dexterous  introduction,  by  a  jo 
cose  old  gentleman,  01  a  mistletoe-boagh  into  the  fes 
toons  draping  the  chandelier,  and  divers  other  tricks, 
all  of  which  were  taken  in  excellent  part  by*  the  vie 
tinjs  thereof,  and  vociferously  applauded  by  the 
spectators.  The  great  hall-clock  had  rung  out  twelvt 
strokes,  and  twr  or  three  methodical  seniors  were  be 


THE  FAOE  AT  THE  WINDOW.  151 

ginning  to  whisper  to  one  another  their  intention  to 
take  French  leave  of  the  indefatigable  juniors  and 
eek  their  couches,  when  a  contused  tumult  arose 
from  the  yard  —  barking  and  shouts,  a^d  voices  in 
angry  or  eager  dispute. 

Unmindful  of  the  nipping  air,  the  ladies  flew  to  the 
windows  and  raised  them,  while  the  gentlemen,  in  a 
body,  rushed  out  upon  the  porch,  many  to  the  lawn  — 
the  scene  of  the  disturbance. 

"  They  have  caught  him  I " 

"  There  are  several  of  them  —  a  gang  of  thieves,  no 
doubt!" 

"  No !  I  see  but  one !  They  are  bringing  him  to  the 
house ! "  were  morsels  of  information  passed  over  the 
shoulders  of  the  foremost  rank  of  inquisitive  fair  ones 
to  the  rear,  but  none  were  able  to  answer  the  returning 
inquiries. 

"Who  is  it?" 

«  What  does  he  look  like  1 " 

"  Does  he  offer  any  resistance  t " 

"  Do  you  suppose  he  is  a  burglar,  or  only  a  common 
ragrant?" 

"  I  thought  the  Ridgeley  grounds  were  never  infested 
by  prowling  beggars,  or  other  vagabonds,"  said  a  lady 
to  Mrs.  Aylett,  who  prudently  remained  near  the  fire, 
even  then  shivering  with  the  cold,  and  casting  uneasy 
fooks  at  the  windows. 

"  Mr.  Aylett  is  a  model  to  hi*  brother  magistrates  ii 


152  THE  PAOS  AT  TOS  WINDOW. 

his  treatment  of  such  nuisances,"  remarked  anothei 
"  His  name  is  a  terror  to  strollers,  whether  they  be 
organ-grinders,  pedlers,  or  incendiaries." 

Mrs.  Aylett,  excessively  pale,  applied  her  vinaigrette 
to  her  nose,  and  trembled  yet  more  violently. 

"  I  believe  he  is  very  strict,"  she  assented.  "  But  I 
am  really  afraid  those  ladies  will  take  cold !  The 
snow-air  is  piercing.  And  they  are  —  most  of  them  — 
heated  with  dancing.  Cannot  we  prevail  upon  them 
to  close  the  windows,  now  that  the  mysterious  prowler 
is  secured  ?  We  shall  hear  all  about  him  when  the 
gentlemen  return,  and  they  will  not  stay  out  of  doort 
longer  than  is  necessary." 

They  began  to  pour  back  into  the  room,  while  she 
was  speaking,  laughing,  and  talking,  all  together 
shaking  the  snow-powder  from  their  hair  and  hands, 
and  anathematizing  the  cold  and  their  thin  boots. 
The  particulars  of  the  midnight  disturbance  went 
quickly  disseminated.  The  ebon  sentinels  had,  di 
rected  by  the  barking  of  their  canine  associates,  dis 
covered,  under  a  holly  hedge  on  one  side  of  the  yard, 
a  man  lying  upon  the  earth,  and  almost  buried  in  the 
snow  he  seemed  not  to  have  strength  to  threw  off.  He 
was  either  drunk  or  so  nearly  frozen  as  to  be  incapable 
of  answering  coherently  their  demands  as  to  what  was 
his  name  and  what  his  business  upon  the  premises, 
The  interrogations  of  the  gentlemen  and  the  ungentle 
thakingfl  administered  by  big  captors  elicited  nothing 


THS  FAOS  AT  THS  WINDOW.  158 

bat  groans  and  muttered  oaths.  He  could  not,  or 
would  not,  walk  without  support,  and  to  leave  him 
where  he  was,  or  to  turn  him  adrift  into  +he  public 
road,  would  be  certain  death.  Therefore  Mr.  Aylett 
had  ordered  him  to  be  confined  for  the  night  in  a 
<arret  room.  In  the  morning  he  might  be  examined 
to  more  purpose. 

"  But  he  ought  to  have  a  fire,  and  something  hot  and 
nourishing  to  drink!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Button,  upon 
hearing  the  story.  "  He  will  freeze  in  that  barn  of  a 
place  —  poor  wretch  I " 

"  I  imagine  he  has  no  need  of  additional  stimulants," 
said  Mrs.  Aylett,  dryly,  again  resorting  to  her  smelling- 
bottle.  "  From  what  the  gentlemen  say,  I  judge  that  he 
had  laid  in  a  supply  of  caloric  sufficient  to  last  through 
the  night.  And  the  first  use  he  would  make  of  fire 
would  be  to  burn  the  house  over  our  heads.  His 
lodgings  are  certainly  more  comfortable  than  those 
selected  by  himself.  There  is  little  danger  of  hi* 
finding  fault  with  them.  What  manner  of  looking 
creature  is  he?" 

"  An  unkempt  vagabond ! "  rejoined  Eandolph  Har 
rison,  rubbing  his  blue  fingers  before  the  fire.  "  Hia 
clothes  are  ragged,  and  frozen  stiff.  I  suppose  he  has 
been  out  in  the  storm  ever  since  it  set  in.  There  were 
icicles  upon  his  beard  and  hair,  his  hat  having  fallen 
off.  It  is  a  miracle  he  did  not  freeze  to  death  long 
It  is  a  bitter  night" 


154  THJL  FACE  AT  THE  WHfDOW. 

"  Did  you  say  he  was  an  old  man  ? "  inquired  tht 
hostess  languidly,  from  the  depths  of  her  easy  chair. 

"He  is  not  a  young  one,  for  his  hair  is  grizzled 
Hut  we  will  form  ourselves  into  a  court  of  inquiry  in 
the  morning,  with  Mr.  Aylett  as  presiding  officer  — 
have  in  the  nocturnal  wanderer,  and  hear  what  ac 
count  he  can  give  of  himself.  Who  knows  what  ro 
rnaiitic  history  we  may  hear — one  that  may  become  a 
Christmas  legend  in  after  years  ? " 

u  You  will  get  nothing  more  sensational  than  the 
confessions  of  a  hen-roost  robber,  I  suspect,"  said  Mrs 
Aylett,  more  wearily  than  was  consistent  with  her  r6U 
of  attentive  hostess. 

Her  husband  noticed  the  tokens  of  exhaustion,  and 
interposed  to  spare  her  further  exertion. 

"  Our  friends  will  excuse  you  if  you  retire  without 
delay,  Clara.  You  still  feel  the  effects  of  your  agita 
tion  and  faintness." 

This  was  the  signal  for  a  general  dispersion  of  the 
ladies  —  the  gentlemen,  or  most  of  them,  adjourning 
to  the  smoking-room. 

Since  the  late  extraordinary  influx  of  visitors,  Mabel 
bad  shared  her  aunt's  chamber,  but,  instead  of  seeking 
this  now,  she  went  straight  from  the  parlor  to  the  sup- 
per-rooin,  where  she  found,  as  she  had  expected,  Mrs. 
Button  in  the  height  of  business,  directing  the  setting  of 
the  oreakfast-table,  clearing  away  the  debris  of  the 
evening  feast,  and  counting  the  iilver  with  unusual 


THE  FAOS  AT  THE  WINDOW. 


,  lest  a  stray  fork  or  spoon  had,  Ly  some  hocta> 
pocus  knjwn  to  the  class,  been  slipped  imto  the  pocket 
of  the  supposititious  burglar. 

"  Aunt,"  began  Mabel,  drawing  her  aside,  "  that 
poor  wretch  up-stairs  must  be  cared  for.  It  is  the 
height  of  cruelty  to  lock  him  up  in  a  fireiess  room, 
without  provisions  or  dry  clothing.  If  he  should  die, 
would  we  be  guiltless  ?  " 

Mrs.  Sutton'g  benevolent  physiognomy  was  per 
plexed. 

"  Didn't  I  say  as  much  in  the  other  room,  before 
everybody,  my  dear?  And  didn't  she  put  me  down 
with  one  of  her  magisterial  sentences'?  She  is  mistress 
here  —  not  you  or  I.  Besides,  Winston  has  the  key  of 
that  east  garret  in  his  pocket,  and  I  would  not  be  the 
one  to  ask  him  for  it,  since  he  has  had  his  wife's  opin- 
k)n  upon  the  subject  of  humanity  to  prisoners." 

"I  shall  not  trouble  him  with  my  petition.  I  dis 
covered  by  accident,  when  I  was  a  child,  that  the  key 
of  the  north  room  would  open  that  door  If  I  order, 
upon  my  own  responsibility,  that  a  cup  of  hot  coffee, 
Mid  some  bread  and  meat  be  taken  up  to  him,  you  will 
not  deny  them  to  me,  1  suppose  ?  " 

"  Certainly  not,  my  child  1  but  I  dare  not  send  a 
servant  with  them.  Winston's  orders  were  pos'thre  — 
they  all  tell  me  —  that  not  a  3oul  should  attempt  to 
acid  communication  with  him.  And  what  he  says  hi 


156  THE  FACE  AT  THE  WIlfDOW. 

"  Then,"'  replied  Winston's  sister,  with  a  spark  of  hie 
spirit,  "I  will  take  the  waiter  up  myself.  I  cannot 
sleep  with  this  horror  hanging  over  me  —  the  fear  leet 
through  my  neglect  or  cowardice,  a  fellow-being  — 
whose  only  offence  against  society,  so  far  as  we  knows 
is  his  dropping  down  in  a  faint  or  stupor  under  a  hedg« 
on  the  Ridgeley  plantation  —  should  lose  his  life." 

"  Your  feelings  are  only  what  I  should  expect  from 
you,  my  love  ;  but  think  twice  before  you  go  upstairs 
yourself !  It  would  be  considered  an  outrageous  im 
propriety,  were  it  found  out." 

"  Lees  outrageous  than  to  let  a  stranger  perish  for 
want  of  such  attention  as  one  would  vouchsafe  to  a 
stray  dog?"  questioned  Mabel,  with  a  queer  smile. 
"  Roger  I  pour  me  out  a  bowl  of  coffee  at  once.  Put 
it  on  a  waiter  with  a  plate  of  bread  and  butter  —  o* 
stay!  oysters  will  be  more  warming  and  nourishing 
I  am  very  sure  that  Daphne  is  keeping  a  saucepanfu; 
hot  for  her  supper  and  yours.  Hurry  1 " 

The  waiter,  whose  wife  was  the  cook,  ducked  hia 
nead  with  a  grin  confirmatory  of  his  young  mistress' 
shrewd  suspicion,  and  vanished  to  obey  her  orders, 
never  dreaming  out  she  wanted  the  edibles  for  he* 
private  consumption.  He  enjoyed  late  and  Lot  aup- 
pers,  and  why  not  she  ?  Thanks  to  this  persuasion,  th« 
coffee  was  strong,  clear,  and  boiling,  the  oysters  done 
to  a  turn,  and  smoking  from  the  saucepan. 

Taking  the  tray  from  him,  with  a  gracious  "  Thank 


THS  PAOS  AT  THE  WINDG  W.  167 

you !    This  is  just  as  it  should  be,"  Mabel  negatived  his 
offer  to  carry  it  to  her  room,  and  started  up-staira 

Mrs.  Button  followed  with  a  lighted  candle 

"  Winston  or  no  Winston,  you  shall  not  face  thai 
desperado  alone,"  she  said,  obstinately.  "  There  is  no 
telling  what  he  may  do  —  murder  you,  perhaps,  or  at 
least  knock  you  down  in  order  to  escape.  Winston 
talks  as  if  he  were  the  captain  of  the  forty  thieves." 

"  He  is  pretty  well  hors  de  combat  now,  at  any  rate,'1 
sjailed  Mabel,  but  allowing  her  aunt  to  precede  hei 
with  the  light  to  the  upper  floor.  "And  should  he 
offer  violence  —  scalding  coffee  may  defend  me  aa 
effectually  as  Morgiana's  boiling  oil  routed  the  gang. 
My  captain  had  to  be  carried  up-stairs  by  four  servants, 
who  left  him  upon  a  pile  of  old  mattresses  in  one  cor 
ner  of  the  room.  Here  we  are  I  " 

They  were  in  a  wide  hall  at  the  top  of  the  house, 
the  un ceiled  rafters  above  their  heacu»,  carpetless 
boards  beneath  their  feet.  Mabel  set  her  waiter  upon 
a  worm-eaten,  iron-bound  chest,  and  went  further 
down  the  passage  to  get  the  key  of  the  north  room. 
Her  light  footstep  stirred  dismal  echoes  in  the  dark 
corners ;  the  wind  screamed  through  every  crack  and 
keyhole,  like  a  legion  of  piping  devils ;  rumbled  lugu 
briously  over  the  steep  roof.  The  one  candl*  flickering 
in  the  draught  showed  Mabel's  white  bust  and  anni, 
like  those  oi  a  phantom,  beaming  through  a  cloud  of 


158  THE  FACE  AT  TRS  WINDOW. 

blackness,  when  she  stooped  to  try  the  key  in  the  lock 

of  the  prison-chamber. 

After  fitting  it,  she  knocked  before  she  turned  it  in 
the  rusty  wards — again,  and  more  loudly  —  then  spoke, 
putting  her  lips  close  tj  the  key-hole : 

"  We  are  friends,  and  have  brought  you  supper 
Oan  we  come  in  ? " 

There  was  no  answer,  and  with  a  beating  heart  she 
anlocked  the  door,  pushed  it  ajar,  and  motioned  to 
Aunt  Rachel  to  hold  her  candle  up,  that  she  might 
gain  a  view  of  the  interior. 

The  wan,  uncertain  rays  revealed  the  heap  of  mat 
tresses,  and  upon  them  what  looked  like  a  mass  of 
rough,  wet  clothing,  without  sound  or  motion. 

"  He  is  pretending  to  be  asleep !  Take  care  !  "  whis 
pered  Mrs.  Button,  trying  to  restrain  Mabel  as  she 
pressed  by  her  into  the  room. 

"  He  is  dead,  I  fear ! "  was  the  low  answer. 

Forgetful  of  her  nephew's  prohibition  and  her  recent 
fears,  the  good  widow  entered,  and  leaned  anxiously 
over  the  stranger's  form.  A  tall,  gaunt  man,  clad  in 
threadbare  garments,  which  hing  loosely  upon  the 
shrunken  breast  and  arms,  black  hair  and  beard,  mot 
tied  with  white,  ragged,  and  unshorn,  and  dank  from 
axposure  to  the  snow  and  sleet ;  a  chalky- white  face, 
wdth  closed  and  sunken  eyes,  sharpened  nose,  and  promi- 
aent  cheek-bones  —  this  was  what  they  beheld  as  th« 
candle  flamed  up  steadily  in  the  comparatively  still 


THE  FACE  AT  THE  WINDOW.  159 

air  of  the  ceiled  apartment.  The  miserable  coat  wa§ 
buttoned  up  to  his  chin,  and  the  shreds  of  a  coarse 
woollen  comforter,  torn  from  his  throat  at  his  capture, 
gtill  hung  about  his  shoulders.  His  clothes  were  sod 
den  with  wet,  as  Harrison  had  said,  and  the  solitary 
pretence  at  rendering  him  comfortable  for  the  night, 
had  been  the  act  of  a  negro,  who  contemptuously  flung 
an  old  blanket  across  his  nether  limbs  before  leaving 
him  to  his  lethargic  slumbers.  He  had  not  moved 
since  they  tossed  him,  like  a  worthless  sack,  upon  this 
sorry  resting-place,  but  lay  an  unsightly  huddle  of  arms, 
legs,  and  head,  such  as  was  never  achieved,  much  less 
continued,  by  any  one  save  a  drunken  man  or  a  corpse 
Mabel  ended  the  awed  silence. 

"  This  is  torpor  —  not  sleep,  nor  yet  death,"  she  said, 
without  recoiling  from  the  pitiful  wreck. 

Indeed,  as  she  spoke,  she  bent  to  feel  his  pulse ;  held 
the  emaciated  wrist  in  her  warm  fingers  until  she  could 
Determine  whether  the  feeble  stroke  were  a  reality,  o? 
a  trick  of  the  imagination. 

"  Dr.  Ritchie  should  see  him  immediately.  He  is  in 
the  smoking-room.  If  yon  call  him  out,  it  will  excite 
less  remark  than  if  I  were  to  do  it.  Don't  let  WinBton 
guess  why  you  want  him,"  were  her  directions  to  her 
armt,  uttered  quickly,  but  distinctly. 

"  \  ou  will  not  stay  here !  At  least,  gc  into  tme  hall! 
What  will  the  doctor  think?  " 

"I  shall  remain  where  I  am.    The  poor  creator*  if 


160  THM  FAOM  AT  THS  WINDOW, 

too  far  gone  to  presume  upon  my  condescension,"  with 
a  faint  sarcastic  emphasis. 

At  Mrs.  Button's  return  with  the  physician,  she  per 
ceived  that  her  niece  had  not  awaited  her  coming  in 
sentimental  idleness.  A  thick  woollen  coverlet  was 
wrapped  about  the  prostrate  figure,  and  Mabel,  upon 
her  knees  on  the  dusty  hearth,  was  applying  the  candle 
to  a  heap  of  waste  paper  and  bits  of  board  she  had 
ferreted  out  in  closets  and  cuddy-holes.  It  caught  and 
blazed  up  hurriedly  in  season  to  facilitate  the  doctor's 
examination  of  the  patient,  thrown  so  oddly  upon  his 
care.  Mrs.  Sutton  had  not  neglected,  in  her  haste,  to 
procure  a  warm  shawl  from  her  room,  and  she  folded 
it  about  the  girl's  shoulders,  whispering  an  entreaty 
that  she  wo?ild  go  to  bed,  and  leave  the  man  to  her 
management  and  Dr.  Ritchie. 

Mabel  waved  her  off  impatiently. 

"  Presently  I  when  I  hear  how  he  ia  ! "  moving 
toward  the  comfortless  couch. 

The  physician  looked  around  at  the  rustle  of  her 
dress,  his  pleasant  face  perturbed,  and  perhaps  re 
morseful. 

"  This  is  a  bad  business !  I  wish  I  had  examined  him 
when  he  was  brought  in.  There  would  have  been 
more  hope  of  doing  something  for  him  then.  But,  to 
tell  the  truth,  I  was  one  of  the  five  or  six  prudent  fel 
lows  who  stayed  upon  the  piazza,  and  witnessed  thf 
capture  from  a  distance.  I  had  no  idea  of  the  man'* 


THE  PACE  AT  TEE  WINDOW.  161 

real  situation.  Mrs.  Button  1  can  1  have  brandy,  hot 
water,  and  mustard  at  once  I  Miss  Mabel !  may  1 
trouble  you  to  call  your  brother?  He  ought  to  be 
advised  of  this  unforeseen  turn  of  affairs." 

His  emissaries  were  prompt.  In  less  than  ten  min 
utes,  all  the  appliances  the  household  could  furnish  for 
the  restoration  of  the  failing  life  were  at  his  command. 
An  immense  fire  roared  in  the  long-disused  chimney ; 
warm  blankets,  bottles  of  hot  water  and  mustard-poul 
tices  were  prepared  by  a  corps  of  officious  servants ;  the 
master  of  the  mansion,  with  three  or  four  friends  af 
his  heels,  and  a  half -smoked  cigar  in  his  hand,  had 
looked  in  for  a  moment,  to  hope  that  Dr.  Ritchie 
would  not  hesitate  to  order  whatever  was  needed,  and 
to  predict  a  favorable  result  as  the  meed  of  his  skiil. 

Half  an  hour  after  her  brother's  visit,  Mabel  tapped 
at  the  door  to  inquire  how  the  patient  was,  and  whether 
she  could  be  of  use  in  any  way.  She  still  wore  her 
evening  dress,  and  the  fire  of  excitement  had  not  gon« 
out  in  her  eyes  and  complexion. 

"Don't  sit  up  longer,"  said  the  doctor,  with  the 
authority  of  an  old  friend.  "  It  will  not  benefit  your 
protfyd  for  you  to  have  a  headache,  pale  cheeks,  and 
heavy  eyes  to-morrow,  while  it  will  render  others, 
whose  claims  upon  you  are  stronger,  very  miserable." 

She  thanked  him  laconically  for  his  thoughtf ulness, 
and  bade  him  "good-night,"  without  a  responsive 
gleam  of  playfulness.  Her  heart  was  weighed  dcwu 


182  THS  FA.CZ  AT  TLE  WINUO  W. 


with  sick  horror.  The  Almost  certainty  of  which  ha 
spoke  with  professional  coolness,  was  to  her,  who  had 
never  within  her  recollection  stood  beside  a  death-bed, 
&  thing  too  frightful  to  be  anticipated  without  dread, 
however  its  terrors  might  be  alleviated  by  affection 
and  wealth.  As  the  finale  of  their  Christmas  frolic  — 
perhaps  the  consequence  of  wilful  neglect  in  those 
who  should  have  known  better  than  to  abandon  the 
wanderer  to  the  ravages  of  hunger,  cold,  and  intoxica 
tion  —  the  idea  was  ghastly  beyond  description. 

She  was  about  to  diverge  from  the  main  hall  on  the 
second  floor  into  the  lateral  passage  leading  to  Mrs. 
Button's  room  in  the  wing,  when  her  name  was  called 
tn  A  gentle,  guarded  key  by  her  tiiter-in-law, 


CHAPTEB  DL 

BIB  DEPABTETH   IN   DABKNE8& 

"OME  inl     I  want  to  talk  to  yon  I"  said 

Aylett,  beckoning  Mabel  into  her  chamber,  from 
f  the  door  of  which  she  had  hailed  her.  "  Sii 
owij^  my  pooi  giri  ?  You  are  white  a»  a  sheet 
with  fatigue.  I  cannot  see  why  you  should  hav«  been 
Buffered  tc  kuow  anything  about  this  very  disngreeable 
jccnrrence.  And  Emmeline  has  been  teiMng  me  that 
Mrs.  Button  aorpMniy  *£  y«>«  go  up  into  that  Arctic 


"It  was  my  choice.  Aunt  Ilachel  wei»t  along  to 
carry  the  light  and  to  keep  me  company.  Sns  would 
nave  dissuaded  me  from  the  enterprise  if  she  could,'' 
responded  Mabel,  sinking  into  the  low,  cushioned  3hair 
before  the  fire,  which  the  mistress  of  the  luxurious 
apartment  had  juat  wheeled  forward  for  her,  and  con 
fessing  to  herself,  for  the  first  time,  that  she  was  rhillj 
and  very  tired. 

"But  where  were  the  ^rvants,  my  dear?  Surely 
you  are  not  required,  in  your  brother's  house,  to  per 


164  OS  DEPARTETB  /2V  DAU&JBM& 

form  snch  menial  services  as  taking  food  and  medicini 
to  a  sick  vagrant." 

"  Winston  had  forbidden  them  to  go  near  the  room. 
I  wish  I  had  gone  up  earlier.  I  might  have  been  th« 
means  of  saving  a  life  which,  however  worthless  it  mj$ 
fieeru  to  us,  must  be  of  value  to  seme  one." 

"Is  he  so  far  gone?" 

The  inquiry  was  hoarsely  whispered,  ani  the  speaker 
leaned  back  in  her  f  auteuil,  a  spark  of  fierce  eagerness 
in  her  dilated  eyes,  Mabel,  in  her  own  anxiety,  di<* 
not  consider  overstrained  solicitude  in  behalf  of  a  dis 
reputable  stranger.  She  had  more  sympathy  with  it 
than  with  the  relapse  into  apparent  nonchalance  that 
succeeded  her  repetition  of  the  doctor's  report. 

"  He  does  not  think  the  unfortunate  wretch  will  re 
vive,  even  temporarily,  then?"  commented  the  lady, 
conventionally  compassionate,  playing  with  her  ringed 
angers,  turning  her  diamond  solitaire  in  various  direc 
lions  to  catch  the  firelight.  "  How  unlucky  he  should 
have  strayed  upon  our  grounds  1  Was  he  on  his  wa} 
to  the  village?" 

"Who  can  sayt  Not  he,  assuredly.  He  has  not 
spoken  a  coherent  word.  Dr.  Ritchie  thinks  he  will 
never  be  conscious  again." 

w  1  am  afraid  the  event  will  mar  our  holiday  gayetiea 
to  some  extent,  stranger  though  he  'Is ! "  deplored  the 
hostess.  "Some  people  are  superstitious  about  such 
things.  His  must  have  been  the  spectral  visage  I  saw 


HE  DKPA RTETH 1*   DJL&KNB8&  165 

at  the  window.    I  was  sure  it  was  that  of  a  white  man, 
although  Winston  tried  to  persuade  me  to  the  contrary ." 

"It  is  dreadful!"  ejaculated  Mabel  energetically. 
w  He,  poor  homeless  wayfarer,  perishing  with  cold  and 
want  in  the  very  light  of  our  summer-like  rooms ;  get 
ting  his  only  glimpse  of  the  fires  that  would  have 
brought  back  vitality  to  hia  freezing  body  through 
closed  windows !  Then  to  be  hunted  down  by  dogs, 
and  locked  up  by  more  unfeeling  men,  as  if  he  were  a 
wavenous  beast,  instead  of  a  suffering  fellow-mortal  I  I 
•nail  always  feel  as  if  I  were,  in  some  measure,  charge 
able  with  his  death  —  should  he  die.  Heaven  forgive 
IM  our  selfish  thoughtlessness,  our  criminal  disregard  of 
our  brother's  life  I" 

"I  understood  you  to  say  there  was  no  hope  I "  intei 
i  apted  Mrs.  Aylett. 

"  So  Dr.  Kitchie  declares.  But  I  cannot  bear  to  be 
lieveit!" 

She  pressed  her  fingers  upon  her  eyeballs  as  if  she 
vrould  exclude  some  horrid  vision. 

"  My  dear  sister  1  your  nerves  have  been  cruelly  tried. 
To-morrow,  you  will  see  this  matter — and  everything 
else  —  through  a  different  medium.  As  for  the  object 
of  your  amiable  pity,  he  is,  without  doubt,  some  low, 
dissipated  creature,  of  whom  the  world  will  be  well 
rid." 

"I  am  not  certain  of  that.  Thexe  are  traces  of 
something  like  refinement  and  gentle  breeding  about 


166  HB  JEPABiETB  IN 


him  in  all  his  squalor  and  unconsciousness.  I  noticed 
his  hands  particularly.  They  are  slender  ani  long, 
and  his  features  in  youth  and  health  must  have  beext 
handsome.  Dr.  Ritchie  thought  the  same.  Who  can 
tell  that  his  wife  is  not  mourning  his  absence  to-night^ 
as  the  fondest  woman  under  this  roof  would  regret  hei 
husband's  disappearance  ?  And  she  may  never  learn 
when  and  how  he  died  —  never  visit  his  grave  !  " 

"  I  have  lived  in  this  wicked  world  longer  than  you 
have,  my  sweet  Mabel  ;  so  you  must  not  quarrel  with  me 
if  these  fancy  pictures  do  not  move  me  as  they  do  your 
guileless  heart,"  said  Mrs.  Aylett,  the  sinister  shadow 
of  a  mocking  smile  playing  about  her  mouth.  "  Nor 
must  you  be  offended  with  me  for  suggesting  as  a  pen 
dant  to  your  crayon  sketch  of  widowhood  and  desola 
tion  the  probability  that  the  decease  of  a  drunken  thief 
or  beggar  cannot  be  a  serious  bereavement,  even  to  his 
nearest  of  kin.  Women  who  are  beaten  and  trampled 
under  foot  by  those  who  should  be  their  comf  ort  and 
protection  are  generally  relieved  when  they  take  to 
vagrancy  as  a  profession.  It  may  be  that  this  man's 
wife,  if  she  were  cognizant  of  his  condition,  would  not 
lift  a  finger,  or  take  a  step  to  prolong  his  life  for  one 
hour.  Such  things  have  been." 

"  More  shame  to  human  nature  that  they  have  I  w 
was  the  impetuous  rejoinder.  "  In  every  true  woman'i 
heart  there  most  be  tender  memories  of  buried  love*, 
Set  their  death  have  been  natural  or  violent." 


HB  DEPA&TETH  ±N  DAZKNE88.  167 

"So  says  your  gentler  nature.    There  are  women  - 
ind  I  believe  they  are  in  the  majority  in  this  crooked 
lower  sphere — in  whose  hearts  the  monument  to  de 
parted  affection  —  when  love  is  indeed  no  more  —  .A  * 
hatred  that  can  never  die.     But  we  have  wandered  ai* 
immense  distance  from  the  unlucky  chicken-thief  or 
burglar  overhead.     Dr.  Ritchie's  sudden  and  ostenta 
tious  attack  of  philanthropy  will  hardly  beguile  him 
into  watching  over  his  charge  —  a  guardian  angel  in 
dress-coat  and  white  silk  neck-tie  —  until  morning  ?  " 

"Mammy  is  to  relieve  Kim  so  soon  as  he  is  con 
vinced  that  human  skill  can  do  nothing  for  his  relief," 
said  Mabel  very  gravely. 

Her  sister-in-law's  high  spirits  and  jocular  tone 
jarred  upon  her  most  disagreeably,  but  she  tried  to  beai 
in  mind  in  what  dissimilar  circumstances  they  had 
passed  the  last  hour.  If  Clara  appeared  unfeeling, 
and  her  remarks  were  distinguished  by  less  taste  thaa 
was  customary  in  one  so  thoroughly  bred,  it  was  be 
cause  the  exhilaration  of  the  evening  was  yet  upoi 
her,  and  she  had  not  seen  the  death's-head  prone  up 
dn  the  pillows  in  the  cheerless  attic.  Thoughts  of  pov 
erty  and  dying  beds  wer«  unseemly  in  this  apartment 
when  the  very  warmth  and  fragrance  of  the  air  told  of 
fostering  and  sheltering  love.  The  heavy  curtains  did 
not  sway  in  the  blast  that  hurled  its  whole  fuiy  against 
the  windows ;  the  furniture  was  handsome,  and  in  per 
fect  harmony  with  the  darl;,  yet  glowing  hues  of  tht 


168  HE  DEPAMTEZH  IN  DA&KNBB&. 

carpet,  and  with  the  tinted  walls.  A.  tall  dressing 
mirror  let  into  a  recess  reflected  the  picture,  brilliant 
with  firelight  that  colored  the  shadows  themselves; 
lengthened  into  a  deep  perspective  the  apparent  ex 
tent  of  the  chamber  and  showed,  like  a  fine  old  paint 
ing,  the  central  figure  in  the  vista. 

Mrs.  Aylett  had  exchanged  her  evening  dress  for  a 
cashmere  wrapper,  the  dark-blue  ground  of  which  was 
enlivened  by  a  Grecian  pattern  of  gold  and  scarlet ; 
aer  unbound  hair  draped  her  shoulders,  and  framed 
Her  arch  face,  as  she  threaded  the  bronze  ripples  with 
her  fingers.  She  looked  contented,  restful,  compla 
cent  in  herself  and  her  belongings  —  one  whom  Time 
had  touched  lovingly  as  he  swept  by,  and  whom  sor 
fcOw  had  forgotten. 

"  .Not  asleep  yet ! "  was  her  husband's  exclamation, 
entering  before  anything  further  passed  between  the 
two  women ;  and  when  his  sister  started  up,  with  an 
apology  for  being  found  there  at  so  late  an  hour,  he 
added,  more  reproachfully  than  he  ever  spoke  to  his 
wife,  "You  should  not  have  kept  her  up,  Mabel! 
Her  strength  has  been  too  much  taxed  already  to-night. 
I  hoped  and  believed  that  she  had  been  in  bed  and 
asleep  for  an  hour." 

"Don't  blame  her  I*  said  Mrs.  Aylett,  hastily.  "I 
sidled  her  in  as  she  was  proceeding  to  bed  in  the  most 
decorous  manner  possible.  I  may  as  well  own  the 
truth  of  my  weakness.  I  was  nervo  isly  wakeful  —  the 


OS  DEPARTETH  IN  DARKNJR8& 

effect,  in  part,  of  the  ultra-strong  coffee  Dr.  Bitdhie  ad 
vised  me  to  drink  at  supper-time  —  in  part,  of  the  silly 
sensation  I  got  up  to  terrify  my  friends  So  I  maneu 
vered  to  secure  a  fireside  companion  until  you  should 
have  dispatched  your  cigar.  Gossip  is  as  pleasant  a 
sedative  to  ladies  as  is  a  prime  Havana  to  their  lords." 

"And  what  is  the  latest  morceau?"  inquired  Mr 
Aylett,  indulgently,  when  Mabel  had  gone. 

He  was  standing  by  his  wife's  chair,  and  she  leaned 
her  head  against  him,  her  bright  eyes  uplifted  to  his, 
faer  hair  falling  in  a  long,  burnished  fringe  over  his 
arm  —  a  fond,  sparkling  siren,  whom  no  man,  with 
living  blood  in  his  veins,  could  help  stooping  to  kiss 
before  her  lips  had  shaped  a  reply. 

"  You  wouldn't  think  it  an  appetizing  morsel !  But 
1  listened  with  interest  to  our  unsophisticated  Mabel's 
Account  of  her  Quixotic  expedition  to  what  will,  I  fore 
see,  be  the  haunted  chamber  of  Eidgeley  in  the  nexfc, 
generation.  Her  pencha/nt  for  adventure  has,  I  su&- 
pect,  embellished  her  portrait  of  the  hapless  house 
breaker." 

"A  common-looking  tramp  1"  returned  Winston, 
disdainfully.  "As  villanous  a  dog  in  physiognomy 
«nd  dress  as  I  ever  saw  1  Such  an  one  as  generally 
draws  hi»  last  breath  where  he  drew  the  first  -  -  in  a 
ditch  or  jail;  and  too  seldom,  for  the  peace  and  safety 
of  society,  finds  his  noblest  earthly  elevation  upon  a 
gallows.  It  is  a  nuisance,  though,  having  him  pay  thif 


170  &E  DEPAJttVETH  IN  DAZXNE88. 


debt  «.£  Nature  —  nobody  but  Nature  would 
trust  him  —  in  my  house.  There  must  be  an  inquest 
and  a  commotion.  The  whole  thing  is  an  insufferable 
Sore.  Ritchie  has  given  him  up,  and  gone  to  bed, 
'eaving  old  Phillis  on  the  watch,  with  unlimited 
rations  of  whiskey,  and  a  pile  of  fire-wood  higher  than 
herself.  But  I  did  not  mean  that  you  should  hear 
Miything  about  this  dirty  business.  It  is  not  fit  for 
my  darling's  ears.  Mabel  showed  even  less  than  her 
usual  discretion  in  detailing  the  incidents  of  her  ad 
venture  to  you." 

Flattery  of  his  sister  had  never  been  a  failing  with 
him,  but,  since  his  marriage,  the  occasions  were  mani 
fold  in  which  her  inferiority  to  his  wife  was  so  glaring 
as  to  elicit  a  verbal  expression  of  disapproval.  It  was 
remarkable  that  Clara's  advocacy  of  Mabel's  cause,  at 
these  times,  BO  frequently  failed  to  alter  his  purpose  of 
Censure  or  to  mitigate  it,  since,  in  all  other  respects, 
her  influence  over  him  was  more  firmly  established 
each  day  and  hour. 

Old  Phillis,  Mabel's  nurse  and  the  doctress  of  the 
plantation  —  albeit  a  less  zealous  devotee  than  her 
master  had  intimated  of  the  potent  beverages  left 
within  her  reach,  ostensibly  for  the  use  of  her  patient. 
he  revive  sufficiently  to  swallow  a  few  drops  — 
yet  toe  drowsy  from  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  sun 
dry  cups  of  Christmas  egg-nogg,  and  the  obesity  ol 
age,  to  maintain  alert  vigil  orer  one  she  in  common 


EM  DEPARTETH  IN  DARKNB8&  17J 

with  her  fellow-servitors,  scorned  as  an  aggravated 
*pecimen  of  the  always  and  ever-to-be  despicable  ge 
nus,  "  poor  white  folks."  There  was  next  to  nothing 
for  her  to  do  when  the  fire  had  been  replenished,  the 
Votties  of  hot  water  renewed  at  the  feet  and  heart,  and 
fresh  mustard  draughts  wound  about  the  almost  pulse 
less  limbs  of  the  dying  stranger.  She  did  contrive  to 
keep  Somnus  at  arm's  length  for  a  while  longer,  by  a 
minute  examination  of  his  upper  clothing,  which,  by 
Dr.  Ritchie's  directions,  had  been  removed,  that  the 
remedies  might  be  more  conveniently  applied,  and  the 
heated  blankets  the  sooner  infuse  a  vital  glow  through 
the  storm-beaten  frame.  The  ancient  crone  took  them 
up  with  the  tips  of  her  fingers  —  ragged  coat,  vest,  and 
pantaloons  —  rummaged  in  the  same  contemptuous 
fashion  every  pocket,  and  kicked  over  the  worn, 
soaked  boots  with  the  toe  of  her  leather  brogan,  sniff 
ing  her  disappointment  at  the  worthlessness  of  the 
habiliments  and  the  result  of  her  search. 

u  Fit  fur  nothin'  but  to  bury  his  poor  carcuss  in  !  " 
she  grunted,  and  had  recourse  to  her  own  plethoric 
pocket  for  a  clay  pipe  and  a  bag  of  tobacco. 

This  lighted  by  a  coal  from  the  hearth,  she  tied  ft 
^^ond  handkerchief  over  that  she  wore,  turban- wise,  on 
her  head,  mumbling  something  about  "  cold  ears ?  and 
*  rheumatiz ; "  settled  herself  in  a  rush-bottomed  chair, 
put  her  feet  upon  the  rounds  of  another,  ard  was 


172  HE  DEPAItrETH  IN  DARK2STES8. 

idarly  on  duty,  prepared  for  any  emergency,  and  to  bt 
alarmed  at  nothing  that  might  occur. 

So  strict  was  the  discipline  she  established  over  her 
telf  in  fifteen  minutes,  that  she  did  not  stir  at  the 
creaking  of  the  bolt,  or  the  shriller  warning  of  the  un- 
oiled  hinges,  as  the  door  moved  cautiously  back,  and  a 
cloaked  form  became  dimly  visible  in  the  opening.  A 
survey  of  the  inside  of  the  chamber,  the  unmoving 
nurse  and  her  senseless  charge,  with  the  fumes  of 
Drandy  and  tobacco,  reassured  the  visitant.  Her  stock 
tngless  f  edt  were  thrust  into  wadded  slippers ;  over  hei 
white  night-dress  was  a  dark-blue  wrapper,  and,  in  ad* 
dition  to  this  protection  against  the  cold,  she  was  en 
veloped  in  a  great  shawl,  disposed  like  a  cowl  about 
her  head.  Without  rustle  or  incautious  mis-step  she 
gained  the  side  of  the  improvised  bed,  and  leaned  over 
it.  The  face  of  the  occupant  was  turned  slightly  tow 
ard  the  left  shoulder,  and  away  from  the  light.  The 
apparition  raised  herself,  with  a  gesture  of  impatience, 
caught  the  candle  from  the  rickety  table  at  the  head 
of  the  mattress,  snuffed  it  hurriedly,  and  again  stooped 
toward  the  recumbent  figure,  with  it  in  her  hand. 

It  was  then  that  the  vigilant  watcher  unclosed  her 
flabby  lids,  slowly,  and  without  start  or  exclamation, 
much  as  a  dozing  cat  blinks  when  a  **edder  sparkle 
from  the  fire  dazzles  her  out  of  dreams  One  hard 
wink,  one  bewildered  stare,  and  Phillis  was  awake  and 
vary.  Her  chin  sank  yet  lower  upon  her  chest,  but 


HE  DJtPARTETH  IF  VAKRJ»ff8&  1T3 

the  black  eyee  were  rolled  upward  \mtil  they  bore 
directly  upon  the  strange  tableau.  The  shawl  had 
dropped  from  the  lady's  head,  and  the  candle  ehone 
broadly  npon  her  features,  as  upon  the  lick  man's  pio 
file.  Apparently  dissatisfied  with  this  view,  she  slip 
ped  her  disengaged  hand  under  the  cheek  which  WM 
downward,  and  drew  his  face  around  into  full  sight. 

w  And  bless  your  soul,  honey  I"  Aunt  Phillis  told 
her  young  mistress,  long  afterward,  "  you  never  se* 
sech  a  look  as  was  on  hern  —  while  her  eyes  was  that 
bright  and  big,  they  was  jist  like  live  coals  sot  in  a 
lump  of  dough  —  she  growed  so  white ! " 

Nevertheless  the  spy  could  return  the  candle  to  its 
place  upon  the  table  without  perceptible  tremor  of  lip 
or  limb,  and  after  bestowing  one  scrutinizing  glance 
npon  the  nurse,  who  was  fast  asleep  beneath  it,  she 
went  to  the  heap  of  damp  clothing.  These  she  lifted 
—  one  by  one  —  less  gingerly  than  Phillis  had  done, 
and  ransacked  every  likely  hiding-place  of  papers  o? 
valuables,  going  through  the  operation  with  a  rapic* 
dexterity  that  astounded  the  old  woman's  weak  mind, 
and  made  her  ashamed  of  her  own  clumsiness.  An 
ticipating  the  final  stealthy  look  in  her  direction,  the 
heavy  lida  fell  once  again,  and  were  not  raised  until 
the  rusty  bolt  passed  gratingly  into  the  socket,  and  eh« 
felt  that  ihe  place  was  deserted  by  all  save  herself  and 
the  dying  stroller. 

She  wag  in  no  danger  of  dozing  upon  her  post  aftat 


HE  DEPARTETH  IN 


this  visitation.  For  the  few  hours  of  darkness  that  yet 
remained)  she  sat  in  her  chair,  her  elbows  upon  her 
knees,  smoking,  and  pondering  upon  wnat  she  usd 
witnessed,  varying  her  occupations  by  feeding  tie  fire 
and  such  care  of  the  patient  as  she  considered  ad>  is*- 
ble  ;  likening,  in  her  rude,  yet  excitable  imagination^ 
the  rumbling  of  the  gale  in  the  chimney  and  across 
the  roof  -tree,  to  the  roll  of  the  chariot-  wheels  which 
were  to  carry  away  the  parting  soul  ;  the  tap  and  rat 
tle  of  sleet  and  wind  at  the  windows  to  the  summons 
of  demons,  impatient  at  Death's  delay. 

u  The  Lord  send  him  an  easy  death,  and  let  him  go 
up,  instead  of  down  1  "  she  groaned  aloud,  once. 

But  the  dubious  shake  of  the  head  accompanying 
the  benevolent  petition  betokened  her  disbelief  in  the 
possibility  of  a  favorable  reply.  In  her  articles  of 
faith  it  was  only  by  a  miracle  that  a  "  no-account  white 
man,"  picked  up  out  of  the  highway,  and  whose  pock 
^ts  were  barren  as  were  those  she  had  examined,  could 
get  an  impetus  in  that  direction. 

The  stormy  dawn  was  revealing,  with  dreary  dis 
tinctness,  the  shabby  disorder  of  the  lumber-room,  when 
Dr.  Ritchie  appeared  in  his  dressing-gown,  rubbing  hi§ 
eyes,  and  yawning  audibly. 

"Gone  —  hey?"  was  his  comment  upon  the  ne- 
gress'  movements. 

She  had  bound  a  strip  of  linen  about  the  lank  jaws  ; 
rambed  back  the  grizzled  ha'r  froir  the  sorehead  intc 


HE  DEPA&TETb.  llf  D A&KNR3&  17& 

•leek  respectability;  crossed  the  hai.ds  at  t&e  wrista, 
as  only  dead  hands  are  ever  laid;  stra'ghtened  the 
limbs,  and  was  in  the  act  of  spreading  a  clean  sheet 
®ver  her  finished  work. 

'•Nigh  upon  an  hour  since,  e.  /'  she  responded, 
respectfully. 

"  He  did  jet  revive  at  aU  after  I  left  him  9 " 

"  Not  a  breath  or  a  motion,  sir.  He  went  off  at  th« 
last  jist  as  easy  as  a  lamb.  Never  tried  to  say  nothin', 
,»or  opened  his  eyes  after  you  went  down.  'Twould  a' 
r»een  a  pity  ef  you  had  a'  lost  more  sleep  a-settin'  up 
'»vith  him.  Ah,  well,  poor  soul  I  'taint  for  us  to  say 
whar  he  is  now.  I  would  hope  he  is  in  glory,  ef  I 
could.  I  'spose  the  Almighty  knows,  and  that's 
enough." 

The  doctor  arrested  her  hand  when  she  would  have 
covered  the  face. 

"  He  must  have  been  a  fine-looking  fellow  in  his 
day  I "  he  said,  more  to  himself  than  to  her.  "  But  he 
has  lived  fast,  burned  himself  up  alive  with  liquor."" 

"  I  didn't  call  nobody,  sir,  to  help  me,  'cause  nobody 
couldn't  do  no  good,  and  I  was  afeared  of  wakin'  the 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  a  trottin'  up  and  dow*i  stairs," 
continued  Phillis,  bent  upon  exculpating  herself  from 
all  blame  in  the  affair,  and  mistaking  his  momentary 
pensiveiiess  for  displeasuie. 

"  You  were  quite  right,  ild  lady  1  All  the  doc  con 
and  medicines  in  the  world  cotild  not  havo  pulled  him 


176  HE  LEPAETETR  SN  DARKNESS. 

through  after  the  drink  arid  the  snow  had  bad  their 
way  with  him  for  so  many  hours  —  poor  devil  I  WeL  I 
111  go  back  to  bed  now,  and  finish  my  mcrning  nap." 

He  was  at  the  threshold  when  he  bethought  himself 
of  a  final  injunction. 

"You  had  better  keep  an  eye  upon  these  things, 
Aunty  I "  pointing  to  the  coat  and  other  garments  she 
had  ranged  upon  chairs  to  dry  in  front  of  the  fire. 
"  There  will  be  a  coroner's  inquest,  I  suppose,  and  there 
may  be  papers  in  his  pockets  which  will  tell  who  he 
was  and  where  he  belonged.  When  you  are  through 
in  here,  lock  the  door  and  take  out  the  key  —  and  if 
yoa  can  help  it,  don't  let  a  whisper  of  this  get  abroad 
before  breakfast.  It  will  spoil  the  ladies'  appetites 
If  anybody  asks  how  he  is,  say  <  a  little  better.'  He 
can't  be  worse  off  than  he  was  in  life,  let  him  be  where 
he  may." 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  Phillis,  in  meek  obedience 
"  But  I  don't  think  he  was  the  kind  his  folks  would 
care  to  keep  track  on,  nor  the  sort  that  carries  valeyble 
papers  'round  with  'em," 

"  I  reckon  you  are  not  far  out  of  the  way  there !  * 
laughed  the  doctor,  subduedly,  lest  the  echo  in  the 
empty  hall  might  reach  the  sleepers  on  the  second 
floor,  and  ha  ran  lightly  down  the  garret  steps. 

The  inquest  sat  that  afternoon.  It  was  a  leisure 
season  with  planters,  and  a  jury  was  easily  collected  by 
tpecial  messengers  —  twelve  jolly  neighbors,  who  were 


SB  DXPARTETH  IN  DARKNE8&  177 

aot  Averse  to  the  prospect  of  a  glass  of  Mrs.  Suttoii'i 
famous  egg-nogg,  and  a  social  smoke  around  the  fire 
in  the  great  dining-room,  even  though  these  were  pre 
faced  by  ten  minutes'  solemn  discussion  over  the  re- 
mains  of  the  nameless  wayfarer. 

His  shirt  was  marked  with  some  illegible  characters, 
done  in  faded  ink,  which  four  of  the  jury  spelled  out 
as  "James  Knowlton,"  three  others  made  up  into 
"  Jonas  Lamson,"  and  the  remaining  five  declined  de 
ciphering  at  all  Upon  one  sock  were  the  letters  "  R 
AL,"  upon  the  f  eUow, "  G.  B."  With  these  unavailable 
exceptions,  there  was  literally  no  clue  to  his  name,  pro 
fession,  or  residence,  to  be  gathered  from  his  person  or 
appareL  The  intelligent  jury  brought  in  a  unanimous 
verdict  —  "  Name  unknown.  Died  from  the  effects  of 
drink  and  exposure ; "  the  foreman  pulled  the  sheet 
again  over  the  blank,  chalky  face,  and  the  shivering 
dozen  wound  their  way  to  the  warmer  regions,  wher* 
the  expected  confection  awaited  them. 

Their  decorous  carousal  was  at  its  height,  and  the 
ladies,  one  and  all,  had  sought  their  respective  rooms 
to  recuperate  their  wearied  energies  by  a  loll,  if  not  a 
siesta,  that  they  might  be  in  trim  for  the  evening's 
enjoyment  (Christmas  lasted  a  whole  week  at  Ridge- 
ley)  wnen  four  strapping  field  hands,  barefooted, 
that  their  tramp  might  not  break  the  epicurean  slum- 
bers,  brought  down  from  the  desolate  upper  chamber 
%  rough  pine  cofiin,  manufactured  and  screwed  tight 


178  HE  EEPABTJSTH  IN  DARKNS&a. 

by  the  plantation  carpenter,  and  after  halting  a  minute 
in  the  back  porch  to  pull  on  their  boots,  took  their  way 
across  the  lawn  and  fields  to  the  servants*  burial-place. 
This  was  in  a  pine  grove,  two  furlongs  or  more  from 
the  garden  fence,  forming  the  lower  enclosure  of  the 
mansion  grounds.  The  intervening  dell  was  knee-deep 
in  drifted  snow,  the  hillside  bare  in  spots,  and  ridged 
high  in  others,  where  the  wind-currents  had  swirled 
from  base  to  summit.  The  passage  was  a  toilsome 
one,  and  the  stalwart  bearers  halted  several  times  to 
uhift  their  light  burden  before  they  laid  it  down  upon 
the  mound  of  mixed  snow  and  red  clay  at  the  mouth 
of  the  grave.  Half-a-dozen  others  were  waiting  there 
to  assist  in  ihe  interment,  and  at  the  head  of  the  pit 
etood  a  white-headed  negro,  shaking  with  palsy  and 
cold  —  the  colored  chaplain  of  the  region,  who,  more 
out  of  custom  and  superstition  than  a  sense  of  religious 
responsibility — least  of  all  motives,  through  respect 
for  the  dead  —  had  braved  the  inclement  weather  to 
Bay  a  prayer  over  the  wanderer's  last  home. 

The  storm  had  abated  at  noon,  and  the  snow  no  Ion 
ger  fell,  but  there  had  been  no  sunshine  through  all 
the  gloomy  day,  and  the  clouds  were  now  mustering 
thickly  again  to  battle,  while  the  rising  gale  in  the 
pine-tops  was  hoarse  and  wrathful.  Far  as  the  eye 
could  reach  were  untrodden  fields  of  snow ;  gently-roll 
ing  hills,  studded  with  shrc  ,>s  and  tinged  in  patches  by 
russet  bristles  of  broom-straw ;  the  river  swollen  inte 


HJS  DSPARTSTH  IN  DARKNESS. 

blackness  between  the  white  bajaks,  and  the  i«rk  hon 
son  of  forest  seeming  to  uphold  the  gray  firmament 
To  the  right  of  the  spectator,  who  stood  on  the  emi 
nence  occupied  by  the  cemetery,  lay  Eidgeley,  with  ita 
environing  outhouses,  crowning  the  most  ambitioua 
height  of  the  chain,  the  sraoke  from  its  chimneys  and 
those  of  the  village  of  cabins  beating  laboriously  up 
ward,  to  be  borne  down  at  last  by  the  lowering  mass 
of  chilled  vapor. 

The  coffin  was  deposited  in  its  place  with  scant  show 
of  reverence,  and  without  removing  their  hats,  the  by 
standers  leaned  on  their  spades,  and  looked  to  the 
preacher  for  the  ceremony  that  was  to  authorize  them 
to  hurry  through  with  their  distasteful  task.  That  the 
gloom  of  the  hour  and  scene,  and  the  utter  f orlornness 
of  all  the  accompaniments  of  what  was  meant  for 
Christian  burial,  had  stamped  themselves  upon  the 
mind  and  heart  of  the  unlettered  slave,  was  evident 
from  the  brief  sentences  he  quavered  out  —  joining  his 
withered  hands  and  raising  his  bleared  eyes  toward 
the  threatening  heavens : 

u  Lord !  what  is  man,  that  thoa  art  mindful  of  him  f 
For  that  which  bef alleth  man  befalleth  beasts  —  even 
one  thing  befalleth  them.  All  go  unto  one  place ;  all 
we  of  the  dust,  and  all  tur^  to  dust  again.  Who 
knoweth  the  spirit  of  man  that  goeth  upward,  and  the 
spirit  of  the  beast  that  goeth  downward  to  the  eai  AL  I 
Man  cometh  in  with  vanity  and  departeth  in  darkness 


180  me  BBPABTBTH  IN  DARKNB8& 

and  his  name  shall  be  covered  with  darkness.  The 
dead  know  not  anything,  for  the  memory  of  them  is 
forgotten.  Also  their  love,  and  their  hatred,  and  theb 
envy  is  now  perished,  neither  have  they  a  portion  for 
ever  in  anything  that  is  done  under  the  sun. 

"Lord!  teach  us  to  number  our  days,  that  we  may 
apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom.  Oh,  spare  me,  that  1 
may  recover  strength,  ere  I  go  hence  and  be  no  more ! 

"  In  the  name  of  the  FATHER,  SON,  and  HOLT  GHOST 
—  dust  to  dust,  and  ashes  to  ashes !  Amen  1 " 

"  By  the  way,  Mr.  Aylett,  the  poor  wretch  up-stairs 
should  be  buried  at  the  expense  of  the  county,"  re 
marked  the  coroner,  before  taking  leave  of  Ridgeley 
and  the  egg-nogg  bowL  "  I  will  take  the  poor-house 
on  my  way  home,  and  tell  the  overseer  to  send  a  coffin 
and  a  cart  over  in  the  morning.  You  don't  care  to 
have  the  corpse  in  the  house  longer  than  necessary,  1 
take  it?  The  sooner  he  is  in  the  Potter's  Field,  thi» 
more  agreeable  for  you  and  everybody  else." 

Mr.  Aylett  pointed  through  the  back  window  at  the 
irindrng  path  across  the  fields. 

A  ahort  line  of  black  dots  was  seen  coming  along  it, 
in  the  direction  of  the  house.  As  they  neared  it  they 
were  discovered  to  be  men,  each  with  a  hoe  or  shores 
upon  his  shoulder. 

"  The  deed  is  done  I "  said  tbe  master,  smiling.  "  My 
good  fellows  there  havn  spared  the  county  the  expense, 


rut  DJffABTMTH  IN  DA&KNX8&  181 

and  the  overseer  the  trouble  of  this  little  matter.  Ai 
for  the  Potter's  Field,  a  place  in  my  servants'  burying* 
ground  is  quite  as  respectable,  and  more  convenient 
in  this  weather." 

The  jurors  were  grouped  about  the  fire  in  the  baro 
niai  hall,  buttoning  up  overcoats  and  splatterdashes, 
and  drawing  on  their  riding-gloves,  all  having  come  on 
horseback.  In  the  midst  of  the  general  bepraisement 
of  their  host's  gentlemanly  and  liberal  conduct,  Mrs. 
Aylett  swam  down  the  staircase,  resplendent  in  silver- 
gray  satin,  pearl  necklace  and  bracelets,  orange  flowerg 
and  cainelias  in  her  hair — semi-bridal  attire,  that  be 
came  her  as  nothing  else  ever  had  done. 

"  My  dear  madam,"  said  the  foreman  of  the  inquest 
—  a  courtly  disciple  of  the  old  school  of  manner,  and 
phraseology —  as  the  august  body  of  freeholders  parted 
to  either  side  to  leave  her  a  passage-way  to  the  fire 
place  — "  your  husband  is  a  happy  man,  and  his  wife 
should  be  a  happy  woman  in  having  won  the  affection  of 
such  a  model  of  chivalry" — stating  succinctly  the  late 
proof  the  "  model "  had  offered  to  an  admiring  world 
of  his  chivalric  principles. 

The  delicate  hand  stole  to  its  resti*g-place  upon  her 
lord's  arm,  as  the  lady  answered,  her  ingenuous  eye* 
suffused  with  the  emotion  that  gave  but  the  more 
sweetness  to  her  smile. 

"  I  am  a  happy  woman,  Mr.  Nelson!    I  think  then 


1 82  ES  DSPARTETH  IN  DARK2fE8» 

i*  not  a  prouder  or  more  blessed  wife  in  all  the  iaa4 
than  I  am  this  evening." 

Laugh,  jest,  and  dance  ruled  the  fleeting  hours  in  the 
halls  of  the  old  country-house  that  night,  and  the  pre 
siding  genius  of  the  revel  was  still  the  beautiful 
hostess  —  never  more  beautiful,  never  so  winning  be 
fore.  No  one  noticed  that,  by  her  orders,  or  her  hus 
band's,  the  window  through  which  she  had  beheld  the 
goblin  visage  was  closely  curtained.  Or,  this  may 
have  been  an  accidental  disposition  of  the  drapery, 
since  no  trace  of  her  momentary  alarm  remained  in 
\er  countenance  or  demeanor. 

/n  the  kitchen  a  double  allowance  of  toddy  waa 
served  out,  by  their  master's  orders,  to  the  men  who 
?md  taken  part  in  the  interment  on  tta  hill-top.  And, 
in  their  noisy  talk  over  their  potation*  tne  vagrant  w** 
scarcely  mentioned. 

Only  the  pines,  hoarser  in  their  sow^fc,  by  reason  of 
the  falling  snow  that  clogged  their  fo^sghs,  chanted  * 
requiem  above  the  rough  hillock  at  tfcssF  feet. 

"  Man  cometh  in  with  vanity,  and  dsparteth  in  dark 
iudtt,  and  hit  name  is  covered  with  darrneg ! * 


CEAFTEB  X. 

BOSA* 

a  jew  appearance." 

"Whccanshebe?" 

"  Unique  —  is  she  not  ? "  were  queries  bandied 
t^r  from  one  to  another  of  the  various  parties  of 
guests  scattered  through  the  extensive  parlors  of  the 
most  fashionable  of  Washington  hotels,  at  the  entrance 
ftf  a  company  of  five  or  six  late  arrivals.  All  the  per 
*>ns  composing  it  were  well  dressed,  and  had  the  car 
riage  of  people  of  means  and  breeding.  Beyond  thia 
there  was  nothing  noteworthy  about  any  of  them,  ex- 
jepiing  the  youngest  of  the  three  ladies  cf  what  seemed 
to  be  a  family  group.  When  they  stopped  for  consul 
tation  upon  their  plans  for  this,  their  first  evening  in 
the  capital,  directly  beneath  the  central  chandelier  of 
the  largest  drawing-room^  she  stood,  unintentionally, 
periLips,  upon  the  outside  of  the  little  circle,  and  not 
exerting  herself  to  feign  interest  in  the  parley,  sought 
amuiioment  in  a  keen,  but  polite  survey  of  the  aaaenv 
bly ,  uppar^iitly  hi  no  wise  disconcerted  at  the  volley  of 
gJaaces  she  encountered  in  returp. 


184  JBOSUL 

If  she  were  always  in  the  same  looks  aha  wore  just 
now,  she  must  have  been  pretty  well  inured  to  batteriei 
of  admiration  by  this  date  in  her  sunny  life.  She  was 
below  the  medium  of  woman's  stature,  round  and  pli 
ant  in  form  and  limbs ;  in  complexion  dark  as  a  gypsy 
but  with  a  clear  skin  that  let  the  rise  and  fall  of  the 
blood  beneath  be  marked  as  distinctly  as  in  that  of  the 
fairest  blonde.  Her  eyes  were  brown  or  black,  it  was 
hard  to  say  which,  so  changeful  were  their  lights  and 
shades ;  and  her  other  features,  however  unclassic  in 
mould,  if  criticised  separately,  taken  as  a  whole,  formed 
a  picture  of  surpassing  fascination.  If  her  eyes  and 
cleft  chin  meant  mischief,  her  mouth  engaged  to  make 
amends  by  smiles  and  seductive  words,  more  sweet 
than  honey,  because  their  flavor  would  never  clog  upon 
him  who  tasted  thereof.  Her  attire  was  striking — it 
would  have  been  bizarre  upon  any  other  lady  in  the 
room,  but  it  enhanced  the  small  stranger's  beauty.  A 
black  robe  —  India  silk  or  silk  grenadine,  or  som* 
other  light  and  lustrous  material  —  was  bespangled 
with  butterflies,  gilded,  green,  and  crimson,  the  many 
folds  of  the  skirt  flowing  to  the  carpet  in  a  train  de 
signed  to  add  to  apparent  height,  and,  in  front,  allow 
ing  an  enchanting  glimpse  of  a  tiny  slipper,  high  in  th« 
instep,  and  tapering  prettily  toward  the  ,x>e.  In  her 
hair  were  glints  of  a  curiously-wrought  chain,  wound 
under  and  among  the  bandeaux ;  on  her  wrists,  plump 
and  dimpled  as  a  baby's,  more  chain-work  of  the  likt 


precious  metal,  ending  in  tinkling  fringe  that  swung, 
glittering,  to  and  fro,  with  the  restless  motion  of  the 
elfin  hands,  she  never  ceased  to  clasp  and  chafe  and 
fret  one  with  the  other,  while  she  thus  stood  and 
awaited  the  decision  of  her  companions.  But  instead 
of  detracting  from  the  charm  of  her  appearance,  the 
seemingly  unconscious  gesture  only  heightened  it.  It 
was  the  overflow  of  the  exuberant  vitality  that  throbbed 
redly  in  her  cheeks,  flashed  in  her  eye,  and  made 
buoyant  her  step. 

"What  an  artless  sprite  it  is !"  said  one  old  gentle 
man,  who  had  stared  at  her  from  the  instant  of  hei 
entrance,  in  mute  enjoyment,  to  the  great  amusement 
of  his  more  knowing  nephews. 

"  All  but  the  artless  1"  rejoined  one  of  the  sophisti 
cated  youngsters.  "  She  is  gotten  up  too  well  for  that. 
Ten  to  one  she  is  an  experienced  stager,  who  calculates 
to  a  nicety  the  capabilities  of  every  twist  of  her  silky 
hair  and  twinkle  of  an  eyelash.  Hallo  I  that  is  gush 
ing  —  nicely  done,  if  it  isn't  almost  equal  to  the  gen 
uine  thing,  in  fact" 

The  ambiguous  compliment  was  provoked  by  a 
cnange  of  scene  and  a  new  actor,  that  opened  other 
optics  than  his  lazy  ones  to  their  extremest  extent.  A 
gentleman  had  come  in  alone  and  quietly — a  tall, 
manly  personage,  whose  serious  countenance  had  :ust 
time  to  soften  into  a  smile  of  recognition  before  th« 
black -robed  fairy  flew  up  to  him  —  both  handi  ex- 


—  her  face  one  glad  sunbeam  of  surprise  anJ 
welcome. 

"  You  here ! n  she  exclaimed,  in  a  low,  thrilling 
tone,  shedding  into  his  the  nnclouded  rays  of  her 
glorious  eyes,  while  one  of  her  hands  lingered  in  his 
friendly  hold.  "  This  is  almost  too  good  to  be  true ! 
When  did  yon  come  ?  How  long  are  you  going  to 
stay?  and  what  did  you  come  for?  Yours  is  the  only 
familiar  physiognomy  I  have  beheld  since  our  arrival, 
\nd  my  eyes  were  becoming  ravenous  for  a  sight  of 
remembered  things.  Which  reminds  me "  —  coloring 
bewitchingly,  with  an  odd  mixture  of  mirth  and  cha 
grin  in  smile  and  voice  —  "  that  I  have  been  getting 
up  quite  a  little  show  on  my  own  account,  forgetful  of 
les  r&glea,  and  I  suppose  the  horrified  lookers-on  think 
of  les  mcsurs.  May  I  atone  for  my  inadvertence  by 
presenting  you,  in  good  and  regular  form,  to  my  some 
what  shocked,  but  very  respectable,  relatives?  Did 
you  know  that  I  was  in  Congress  this  year  —  that  is, 
Mr.  Mason,  my  aunt's  husband,  is  an  Honorable,  and 
I  am  here  with  them  ?  " 

The  gentleman  gave  her  his  arm,  and  they  strolled 
leisurely  in  the  direction  of  the  party  she  had  deserted 
oo  unceremoniously. 

a  I  did  not  know  it,  but  I  am  glad  to  learn  that  yoi 
are  to  make  a  long  visit  to  the  city.  I  have  business 
that  may  detain  me  here  Cor  a  week  —  perhaps  a  fort 


XOAA.  18? 

night/7  was  his  answer  to  the  first  qnestica  she  scJfered 
him  thus  to  honor. 

Then  the  introduction  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mason,  theii 
married  daughter,  Mrs.  Cunningham,  and  her  husband, 
«ras  performed.  The  Member's  wife  was  a  portly, 
good-natured  Virginia  matron,  whose  ruling  desire  to 
make  all  about  her  comfortable  as  herself,  sometimes  led 
to  contretemps  that  were  trying  to  the  subjects  of  her 
kindness,  and  would  have  been  distressing  to  her,  had 
she  ever,  by  any  chance,  guessed  what  she  had  done. 

She  opened  the  social  game  now,  by  saying,  agree 
ably  :  "  Your  name  is  not  a  strange  one  to  us,  Mr. 
Chilton.  We  have  often  heard  you  spoken  of  in  the 
most  affectionate  terms  by  our  friends,  but  not  near 
neighbors,  the  Ayletts,  of  Ridgeley,  —  —  county.  Is  it 
lang  since  you  met  or  heard  from  them?  " 

"  Some  months,  madam.  I  hope  they  were  in  their 
usual  health  when  you  last  saw  them  ?  " 

Receiving  her  affirmative  reply  with  a  courteous 
bow,  and  the  assurance  that  he  was  "  happy  to  hear  it," 
Mr.  Chilton  turned  to  Rosa,  and  engaged  her  in  con 
versation  upon  divers  popular  topics  of  the  day,  all  of 
which  she  was  caref~il  should  conduct  them  in  the  op 
posite  direction  fron?  Ridgeley,  and  his  affectionate  in 
timates,  the  Ayletts,  He  appreciated  and  was  grate 
ful  for  her  tact  and  delicacy.  Her  unaffected  pleasure 
at  meeting  him  liad  been  as  pleasant  as  it  was  unlooked- 
for,  aware  as  he  was,  from  Mabel's  letter  immediately 


18S  BO&A. 

preceding  the  rapture  of  their  engagement,  Aat  BOM 
must  have  been  staying  with  her  when  it  occurred 
The  slander  that  had  blackened  him  in  the  esteem  of 
his  betrothed  had,  he  naturally  supposed,  injured  hit 
reputation  beyond  hope  of  retrieval  with  her  acquaint 
ances.  Ttosa,her  bosom  companion,  could  not  but  have 
heard  the  whole  history,  yet  met  him  with  undirnin 
ished  cordiality,  as  a  valued  friend.  Either  the  Ay 
letts  had  been  unnaturally  discreet,  or  the  faith  of  th* 
interesting  girl  in  his  integrity  was  firmer  and  bette* 
worth  preserving  than  he  had  imagined  in  the  past 
Perhaps,  too,  since  he  was  but  mortal  man,  although 
one  whose  heritage  in  the  school  of  experience  had 
been  of  the  sternest,  he  was  not  entirely  insensible  to 
the  privilege  of  promenading  the  long  suite  of  apart 
ments  with  the  prettiest  girl  of  the  season  hanging 
upon  his  arm,  and  granting  her  undivided  attention  to 
all  that  he  said,  indifferent  to,  or  unmindful  of,  th* 
flattering  notice  she  attracted. 

Over  and  above  all  these  recommendations  to  hh 
peculiar  regard  was  her  association  with  the  happy 
days  of  his  early  love.  Not  an  intonation,  not  a  look 
of  hers,  but  reminded  him  of  Ridgeley  and  of  Mabel. 
It  was  a  perilous  indulgence  —  this  recurrence  to  ft 
dream  he  had  vowed  to  forget,  bat  the  temptation  had 
befallen  him  suddenly,  and  he  surrendered  himself  to 
the  intoxication. 

Yes  1    she  was  going  to  the  P  eeid exit's  levee  thai 


1*9 


evening,  Bout  said,  A  oort  of  raree-show  —  wit  it 
not  1  with  the  Chief  Magistrate  for  head  mountebank 
He  was  worse  off  in  one  respect  than  the  poorest  cot 
tager  in  the  nation  he  was  commonly  reported  to  gov 
ern,  inasmuch  as  he  had  not  the  right  to  invite  whom 
he  pleased  to  his  house,  and  when  the  mob  overran  his 
premises  he  must  treat  all  with  equal  affability.  She 
pitied  his  wife  1  She  would  rather,  if  the  choice  were 
offered  her,  be  one  of  the  revolving  wax  dummies  used 
•in  shop- windows  for  showing  the  latest  style  of  evening 
Costume  and  hair-dressing  —  for  the  dolls  had  no  witi 
of  their  own  to  begin  with,  and  were  not  expected  to 
say  clever  things,  as  the  President's  consort  was,  after 
she  had  lost  hers  in  the  crush  of  the  aforesaid  mo\\ 
who  eyed  her  freely  as  an  appendage  to  their  chattel, 
the  man  they  had  bought  by  their  votes,  and  put  in 
the  highest  seat  in  the  Republic.  No !  she  was  not 
provided  with  an  escort  ,to  the  White  House.  She  did 
not  know  three  people  in  Washington  beside  her  rela 
tives,  and,  looking  forward  to  creeping  into  the  pala- 
Latial  East  Boom  at  her  uncle's  back,  or  in  the  shadow 
of  her  cousin's  husband,  the  vision  of  enjoyment  had 
not  been  exactly  enrapturing  —  but,  her  companion's 
proposal  to  join  their  party  and  help  elbow  the  crowd 
away  from  her,  lent  a  different  coloring  to  the  horizon, 
But  —  again  —  flushing  prettily  —  was  he  certaic 
that  the  expedition  would  not  bore  him  f  Doubtless, 
he  had  had  some  other  engagement  in  prospect  for  he 


190 


evening,  before  he  stumbled  over  her.  He  ar^ht  t» 
know  her  well  enough  not  to  disguise  nia  real  wishes 
by  gallant  phrases. 

"  I  have  never  been  otherwise  than  sincere  with  you,7 
Frederic  said,  honestly  ;  "  I  had  thought  of  going  to 
the  levee  alone,  as  a  possible  method  of  whiling  away 
an  idle  evening.  If  you  will  allow  me  to  accompany 
you  thither,  I  shall  be  gratified  —  shall  derive  actual 
pleasure  from  the  motley  scene.  It  will  not  be  the 
only  time  you  and  I  have  studied  varieties  of  physi 
ognomy  and  character  in  a  mixed  assembly.  Do 
you  recollect  the  hops  at  the  Rockbridge  Alum 
Springs  ?  " 

"  I  do,"  replied  Rosa,  laconically  and  very  soberly. 

He  thought  she  suppressed  a  sigh  in  saying  It 
She  was  a  warm-hearted  little  creature  with  all  her 
vagaries,  and  he  wa§  less  inclined  to  reject  her  unob 
trusive  sympathy  than  if  a  more  sedate  or  prudent 
person  had  proffered  it 

It  was  certain  he  could  not  have  selected  a  more  en 
tertaining  associate  for  that  evening.  She  amused  him 
in  spite  of  the  painf  al  recollections  revived  by  their 
intercourse.  She  did  not  pass  unobserved  in  the  dense 
crowd  that  packed  the  lower  floor  of  the  White  House. 
Her  face,  all  glee  and  sparkle,  the  varied  music  of  her 
soft  Southern  tongue,  her  becoming  attire  —  were,  in 
turn,  the  subject  of  eulogistic  comment  among  the 
most  distinguished  oounoiaeeurg  present.  It  was  GO* 


AO&A.  191 

probable  that  these  should  all  be  unheaid  by  her  cav* 
Her,  or  that  he  should  listen  to  them  with  profound 
indifference. 

He  was  astonished,  therefore,  when  she  protested  thai 
she  had  had  "  enough  of  it,"  and  proposed  that  the;* 
should  extricate  themselves  from  the  press  and  go  home. 
It  was  contrary  to  the  commonly  received  tenets  of  hia 
sex  respecting  the  insatiable  nature  of  feminine  vanity, 
that  she  should  weary  so  soon  of  adulation  which  would 
have  rendered  a  light  head  dizzy.  Mrs.  Mason  was  not 
ready  to  leave  the  halls  of  mirth.  She  had  met  scores 
of  old  friends,  and  was  having  a  "  nice,  sociable  time  " 
in  a  corner,  while  Mrs.  Cunningham  had  "  not  begun 
to  enjoy  herself,  looking  at  the  queer  people  and  the 
superb  dresses." 

Of  course,  they  had  no  objection  to  their  wilfrJ 
relative  doing  as  she  liked,  but  did  not  conceal  their 
amazement  at  her  bad  taste. 

"  Take  the  carriage,  dear  1  You'll  find  it  around 
out  there  somewhere,"  drawled  the  easy-tempered  aunt 
"And  let  Thomas  come  back  for  us.  He  will  be  in 
time  an  hour  from  this." 

"  "Would  it  be  an  unpardonable  infraction  of  eti  - 
quette  if  we  were  to  walk  home  ? "  questioned  Kosa  of 
Mi*.  Chilton,  when  they  were  out  of  Mr.  Mason's  bear 
ing.  "  The  night  is  very  mild." 

"  But  your  feet  Are  they  not  too  lightly  shod  far 
thft  pavement  f  " 


192  MOSA. 

"  I  left  a  pair  of  thick  gaiters  in  the  dressing-room 
xrhich  I  wore  in  the  carriage." 

*  Then  I  will  be  answerable  for  the  breach  of  eti 
quette,  should  it  ever  be  found  out,"  was  the  reply,  and 
Rosa  disappeared  into  the  tiring-room  to  equip  herself 
for  the  walk. 

It  was  a  lovely  night  for  December  —  moonlighted 
and  bland  as  October,  and  neither  manifested  a  disposi 
tion  to  accelerate  the  saunter  into  which  they  had  fallen 
•t  their  first  step  beyond  the  portico.  Kosa  dropped 
aer  rattling  tone,  and  began  to  talk  seriously  and  sen 
sibly  of  the  scene  they  had  left,  the  flatness  of  fash 
tonable  society  after  the  freshness  of  novelty  had 
passed  from  it,  and  her  preference  for  home  life  and 
*ried  friends. 

"  Yet  I  always  rate  these  the  more  truly  after  a  peep 
At  a  different  sphere,"  she  said.  "  Our  Old  Virginia 
3ountry-house  is  never  so  dear  and  fair  at  any  other 
time  as  when  I  return  to  it  after  playing  at  fine  lady 
abroad  for  a  month  or  six  weeks.  I  used  to  fret  at  the 
ojonotony  of  my  daily  existence ;  think  my  simple 
pleasures  tame.  I  am  thankful  that  I  go  back  to  them, 
M  I  grow  older,  as  one  does  to  pure,  cold  water,  after 
drinking  strong  wine." 

"  You  are  blessed  in  having  this  fountain  to  which  you 
may  resort  in  your  heart-drought,"  answered  Frederic, 
sadly.  "  The  gods  do  not  often  deny  the  gift  of  home 
and  domestic  affections  to  woman.  It  is  an  exception 


19* 


to  a  universal  rule  when  a  man  who  oas  reached  thirty 
without  building  a  nest  for  himself,  has  a  pleasant  shel 
ter  spared,  or  offered  to  him  elsewhere." 

"  Yet  yon  would  weary,  in  a  week,  of  the  indolent, 
aimless  life  led  by  most  of  our  youthful  heirs  expect 
ant  and  apparent,"  returned  Rosa.  "  I  remember 
once  telling  you  howl  envied  you  for  having  work  and 
a  career.  I  was  youthful  then  myself — and  foolish  as 
immature," 

"  I  recollect  I n  and  there  was  no  more  talk  for  eev 
tjral  squares. 

Rosa  was  getting  alarmed  at  the  thought  of  her  te 
merity  in  reverting  to  this  incident  in  their  former  in- 
cercourse,  and  meditating  the  expediency  of  entering 
*pon  an  apology,  which  might,  after  all,  augment, 
*Ather  than  correct  the  mischief  she  had  done,  when 
Frederic  accosted  her  as  if  there  had  been  no  hiatus  in 
the  dialogue. 

"I  recollect!"  he  repeated,  just  as  before.  "It 
was  upon  the  back  piazza  at  Ridgeley,  after  breakfast  on 
that  warm  September  morning,  when  the  air  was  a  sil 
very  haze,  and  there  was  no  dew  upon  the  roses.  I, 
too,  have  grown  older  —  I  trust,  wiser  and  stronger 
since  I  talked  so  largely  of  my  career  —  what  I  hoped 
to  be  and  to  do.  When  did  you  eee  her  —  Miss  Ay- 
lett,"  abruptly,  and  with  a  total  change  of  manner. 

"The  Rubicon  is  forded,"  thought  Rosa,  compla 
cently,  the  while  her  compassion  for  him  wag  sincere 


1*4  JBQ&l 

and  strong.    "  He  can  never  shut  his  heart  inexorably 
against  me  after  this." 

Aloud,  she  replied  after  an  instant's  hesitation,  de 
signed  to  prepare  him  for  what  was  to  follow  —  "1 
was  with  Mabel  for  several  days  last  May.  We  havi 


not  met  since." 

"  She  is  alive  —  and  well  ? "  he  asked,  anxio  ci 

An  inexplicable  something  in  her  mannei  warned 
hi™  that  all  was  not  right. 

"She  is  —  or  was,  when  I  last  heard  newt»  of  her; 
we  do  not  correspond.  She  does  not  live  at  Kidgeley 
now." 

There  she  stopped,  before  adding  the  apex  to  the 
nicely  graduated  climax. 

"  Not  live  with  her  brother  I    I  do  not  understand.*" 

"  Have  you  not  heard  of  her  marriage  ? " 

"No!" 

He  did  not  reel  or  tremble,  but  sne  felt  that  th« 
bolt  had  pierced  a  vital  part,  and  wisely  forbore  tc 
offer  consolation  he  could  not  hear. 

But  when  he  would  have  parted  with  her  at  the 
door  of  her  uncle's  parlor,  she  saw  how  deadly  pale  he 
was,  and  put  her  hands  into  his,  beseechingly. 

"Come  in  I  I  cannot  let  you  go  until  you  hare 
said  that  you  forgive  me  I " 

There  were  tears  in  her  eyes,  and  in  her  coaxing 
accents,  and  he  yielded  to  the  gentle  face  that  sought 
to  lead  him  into  the  room.  It  was  fearfal  agony  that 


tontrarted  hit  forehead  and  lipa  when  he  wonli  have 
gpoken  reassuringly,  and  they  were  drops  of  genuine 
commiseration  that  drenched  the  girl's  cheeks  while 
the  listened. 

"T  have  nothing  to  forgive  you  I  You  have  been 
all  kindness  and  consideration  —  I  ought  not  to  have 
asked  questions,  but  I  believed  myself  when  I  boasted 
of  iny  strength.  I  thought  the  bitterness  of  the 
heart's  death  had  passed.  Now,  I  know  I  never  de 
spaired  before!  Great  Heavens  I  how  I  loved  that 
woman !  and  this  is  the  end ! " 

He  walked  to  the  other  side  of  the  room. 

Kosa  durst  not  follow  him  even  with  her  eyes.  She 
sat,  her  face  concealed  by  her  handkerchief,  weeping 
many  tears  for  him  —  more  for  herself,  until  she 
heard  his  step  close  beside  her,  and  he  seated  himself 
upon  her  sofa. 

"  Rosa  1  dear  friend  I  my  sympathizing  little  sister  I  1 
shall  not  readily  gain  my  own  pardon  for  having  dis 
tressed  you  so  sorely.  When  you  can  do  it  with  com 
parative  ease  to  yourself,  I  want  you  to  tell  me  one  or 
two  things  more,  and  then  we  will  never  allude  to 
irreparable  bygones  again." 

"  I  ain  ready ! "  removing  her  soaked  cambric,  and 
forcing  a  fluttering  smile  that  might  show  how  com 
posed  she  was ;  "  don't  think  of  me  1  i  was  only  grieved 
for  your  sake,  and  sorry  because  I  had  unwittingly  hurt 
you,  I  was  in  hopes  —  I  imagined " 


"That  I  had  outlived  my  disappointment!  Yo« 
laid,  that  same  September  day,  that  women  hid  theii 
green  wonnds  in  sewing  rooms  and  oratories.  Mina 
should  have  been  cauterized  long  ago,  by  other  and 
harsher  means,  yon  think.  It  seldom  bleeds  —  but  to 
night,  I  had  not  time  to  ward  off  the  point  of  the 
knife  and  it  touched  a  taw  spot.  Don't  let  me 
frighten  yon  I  now  that  the  worst  is  upon  me,  I  must 
be  calmer  presently.  You  were  at  Ridgeley,  in  Sep 
•ember,  a  year  since,  when  she  who  was  then  Miss 
Aylett " — compelling  himself  to  the  articulation  of  the 
sentence  that  signified  the  later  change  —  "received 
her  brother's  command  to  reject  me  ? " 

"I  was." 

"  He  would  never  tell  me  upon  what  evil  ~eport  hit 
prohibition  was  based.  He  was  more  communicative 
with  his  sister,  I  suppose  ? " 

And  Kosa,  following  the  example  of  other  women — 
and  men  —  who  vaunt  their  principles  more  highly 
than  she  did  hers,  made  a  frank  disclosure  of  part  of 
the  truth  and  held  her  tongue  as  to  the  rest. 

"  I  couldn't  help  seeing  that  something  was  wrong, 
for  Mabel,  who,  up  to  the  receipt  of  her  brother's  letter 
and  one  from  you  that  came  by  the  same  mail,  had 
been  very  cheerful  and  talkative,  suddenly  grew  more 
uerioui  and  reserved  than  was  her  habit  at  any  time; 
but  she  told  me  nathing  whatever,  never  mentioned 
fonr  name  again  in  my  hearing  Mrs.  Button  did  hint 


JRMUL  if? 

to  me  her  fear  hat  Mr.  Aylett  had  heard  something 
prejudicial  to  your  character,  which  had  greatly  dis 
pleased  him  and  shocked  Mabel,  but  even  she  was  un 
accountably  reticent.  Intense  as  was  my  anxiety  to 
iearn  the  particulars  of  the  story,  and  upon  what  evi 
dence  they  were  induced  to  believe  it,  I  dared  not 
press  my  inquiry  into  what  it  was  plain  they  intended 
to  guard  as  a  family  secret." 

His  reply  was  just  what  she  had  foreseen  and 
guarded  against. 

u  It  would  have  been  a  kind  and  worthy  deed,  had 
you  written  to  warn  me  of  my  danger,  and  advised  me 
to  make  my  defence  in  person.  As  it  was,  I  waa 
thrown  off  roughly  and  pitilessly  —  my  demand  upon 
the  brother  for  the  particulars  of  the  accusation  against 
me  —  my  appeal  to  the  sister  —  loving  and  earnest  as 
words  could  make  it  —  for  permission  to  visit  her  and 
learn  from  her  own  lips  that  she  trusted  or  disowned 
me,  were  alike  disregarded.  Mr.  Aylett's  response  was 
a  second  letter,  more  coldly  insulting  than  the  first  — 
hers,  the  return  of  my  last,  after  she  had  opened  and 
read  it,  then  the  surrender  of  my  gifts,  letters,  notes, 
everything  that  could  remind  her  that  we  nad  ever  met 
and  loved.  Mrs.  Button,  too,  my  father's  old  and  firm 
friend,  deserted  me  in  my  extremity.  And  she  must 
have  been  acquainted  with  the  character  and  extent  oi 
the  charges  preferred  against  me.  I  had  hoped  bettei 
tking*  from  her,  if  only  because  I  bear  her  dead  hu* 


19*  &QSA. 

band's  name.    Did  she  never  j*peak  iu  7001  bearing 
of  writing  to  me  I " 

"She  did  —  but  said,  in  the  next  breath,  that  it 
would  be  useless,  since  the  minds  of  the  others  were 
fully  made  up.  I  knew  she  thought  Winston  arbi 
trary,  and  Mabel  credulous ;  but  she  was  afraid  to  in 
terfere.  As  for  myself,  what  could  I  have  told  you 
that  you  had  not  already  heard  ?  I  could  only  hope 
that  the  cloud  was  not  heavy,  and  would  soon  blow 
aver.  From  the  hour  in  which  it  cast  the  first  shadow 
upon  her,  Mabel  was  estranged  from  me — the  decline 
of  our  intimacy  commenced.  The  Ayletts  take  pride 
in  keeping  their  own  counsel.  Winston,  who  never 
liked  me,  and  whom  I  detested,  was  as  confidential 
with  me  in  this  affair  as  my  old  playfellow  and  school 
mate.  Believe  me  when  I  declare  that  if  my  interces 
sion  could  have  availed  aught  with  her,  I  would  have 
run  the  risk  of  her  displeasure  and  Winston's  anath 
emas  by  offering  it." 

"  I  do  believe  you  1  Nor  need  you  expatiate  to  me 
upon  the  obduracy  of  the  Aylett  pride.  Surely,  no 
one  living  has  more  reason  than  I  to  comprehend  how 
anreasoning  and  implacable  I  find  it  is.  I  looked  for 
injustice  at  Winston  Aylett's  hands.  I  read  him  truly 
in  our  only  private  interview.  Insolent,  vain,  despotic 
—  wedded  to  his  dogmas,  and  intolerant  of  others 
opinion,  he  disliked  me  because  I  refused  to  play  1hi 
abedieat  vassal  to  his  will  and  requirements;  stood  up- 


&Q&A. 


right  as  one  man  should  in  the  presence  of  a  brother* 
mortal,  instead  of  cringing  at  his  lordship's  footstool 
But  he  was  powerless  to  do  more  than  annoy  me  with 
out  his  sister's  co-operation." 

"She  stood  in  great,  almost  slavish,  awe  of  him,* 
urged  Rosa,  in  extenuation  of  Mabel's  infidelity. 

"Aye!"  savagely.  "And  love  was  not  strong 
enough  to  cast  out  fear!  She  was  justifiable  if  she 
hesitated  to  entrust  herself  and  her  happiness  to  the 
Keeping  of  one  she  had  known  but  two  months.  It 
Fas  prudent  —  not  false  —  in  her  to  weigh,  to  the 
finest  grain,  the  evidence  furnished  by  her  brother  to 
prove  my  unfitness  to  be  her  husband.  But  having 
done  all  this,  she  should  have  remembered  that  I  had 
rights  also.  It  was  infamous,  cowardly,  cruel  beyond 
degree,  to  cast  her  vote  against  me  without  giving  me 
a  chance  of  self  -exculpation.  Her  hand  —  not  his  — 
struck  the  dagger  into  my  back  I  " 

Again  Rosa's  fingers  involuntarily  (?)  stole  into  his, 
to  recall  him  to  a  knowledge  of  where  he  was,  and 
there  were  fresh  tears,  ready  to  fall  from  her  gazelle 
eyes,  when  his  agitation  began  to  subside. 

"  My  poor  child  1  "  he  said,  penitently.  "  I  am  be 
having  like  a  madman,  you  like  a  pitying  angel  !  We 
will  have  no  more  scenes,  and  you  mi\8t  oblige  me  by 
forgetting  this  one,  as  fast  as  may  be.  From  to-night 
Mabel  Aylett  is  to  me  as  if  she  had  never  been.  To 
nobody  except  yourself  have  I  betrayed  the  secret  of 


£00 


my  hurt.    After  thi§.  when  yon  thick  of    t,  believ* 
that  it  is  a  hurt  no  longer." 

Rosa  "had  out"  her  fit  of  crying  when  he  went 
away,  betaking  herself  to  her  chamber  and  locking 
the  door  that  her  aunt  might  not  surprise  her  while 
the  traces  of  tears  disfigured  her  cheeks.  But  she  was 
anything  but  broken-hearted,  and  only  slightly  sore  in 
spirit  in  the  retrospect  of  what  had  ensued  upon  her 
communication  to  the  discarded  lover.  He  had,  in 
deed,  given  more  evidence  of  his  unconquered  passion 
for  Mabel  than  she  had  expected.  His  undisguised 
pleasure  in  renewed  companionship  with  herself ;  hi* 
excellent  spirits  during  the  greater  part  of  the  even 
ing  ;  his  unembarrassed  reply  to  her  aunt's  malapropos 
observation,  and  fluent  chat  upon  other  themes,  had 
misled  her  into  the  hope  that  the  ungenerous  and  un 
civil  conduct  of  the  Ayletts  had  disgusted  and  alien 
ated  him  from  sister,  no  less  than  from  brother.  I4 
was  a  disappointment  to  discover  that  it  cost  him  a  ter 
rible  effort  to  pronounce  Mabel's  name,  while  the  ab 
rupt  intelligence  of  her  marriage  had  distracted  him  to 
Incoherent  ravings,  which  had  nearly  amounted  to 
curses  upon  the  authors  of  his  pain. 

"  And  all  for  a  woman  who  could  bring  herself,  aftei 
being  engaged  to  Frederic  Chilton,  to  marry  that  dolt 
of  a  Dorrance ' "  she  said,  indignantly.  "  I  wonder  if 
iie  would  have  been  consoled  or  chagrined  had  I 
painted  the  portrait  of  the  man  who  had  superseded 


301 


him.  It  IB  as  well  that  I  did  not  make  the  experiment 
He  would  be  magnanimong  enough  when  he  cooled 
$lown  —  which  he  will  do  by  to-morrow  morning  —  to 
pity  her,  and  that  is  next  to  the  last  thing  I  want  him 
to  do.  Thank  goodness  I  the  denouement  is  over,  and 
the  topic  an  interdicted  one  from  this  time  forth. 
Now  for  the  verification  or  refutation  of  the  saying 
that  a  heart  is  most  easily  caught  in  the  rebound. 
There  was  some  jargon  we  learned  at  school  about  the 
angle  of  incidence  being  equal  to  that  of  reflection. 
You  see,  my  dearly  beloved  self,"  nodding  with  re 
turning  sauciness  at  her  image  in  the  mirror  before 
which  she  was  combing  her  hair,  "I  undertake  thia 
business  in  the  spirit  of  philosophical  investigation." 

She  needed  to  keep  her  courage  up  by  these  and  the 
like  whimsical  conceits,  when  the  forenoon  of  the  next 
day  passed  away  without  a  glimpse  of  Mr.  Chilton- 
He  had  not  yet  left  his  card  for  the  Masons,  nor  called 
to  inquire  after  her  health,  when  the  summons  sounded 
to  the  five  o'clock  dinner.  A  horrible  apprehension 
seized  and  devoured  her  heart  by  the  time  the  dessert 
was  brought  on,  and  there  were  no  signs  of  his  appear 
ance.  He  had,  ashamed  to  meet  her  after  last  night's 
exposure  of  his  weakness,  or  dreading  the  power  of 
the  reminiscences  the  sight  of  her  would  awaken, 
left  the  city  without  coming  to  say  "  Farewell"  Thai 
i»,  she  had  driven  him  from  her  forever ! 
•* 


202  ROSA. 

The  room  went  around  with  her  ja  a  dizzy  wa!  tz,  •§ 
the  notion  crossed  her  brain. 

"  The  sight  and  smell  of  all  these  sweets  make  me 
rick,  Annt  Mary,"  she  said,  rising  from  the  table 
*  My  head  acLas  awfully !  May  I  go  to  my  room  and 
lie  down!" 

"  Try  some  of  this  nice  lemon-ice,  my  love  I "  pre 
scribed  the  plump  matron.  "The  acid  will  set  yon 
all  straight.  No  ?  You  don't  think  you  are  going  to 
have  a  chill,  do  you  ?  Father ! "  nudging  her  husband 
who  was  burying  his  spoon  in  a  Charlotte  Kusse, 
u  this  dear  child  doesn't  want  any  dessert.  Won't  yon 
pilot  her  through  the  crowd  ? " 

"Only  to  the  door,  uncle!  Then  come  back  to 
your  dinner ! "  Kosa  made  answer  to  his  disconcerted 
Btare.  "I  can  find  my  way  to  my  chamber  without 
help." 

She  could  have  done  it,  had  she  been  in  possession 
of  her  accustomed  faculties.  But  between  the  har 
rowing  suspicion  that  engrossed  her  mind  and  the 
nervous  moisture  that  gathered  in  her  eyes  with  each 
gtep,  she  mounted  a  story  too  high,  and  did  not  per 
ceive  her  blunder  until,  happening  to  think  that  hei 
apartment  must  lie  somewhere  in  the  region  she  had 
gained,  she  consulted  the  numbers  upon  the  adjacent 
doors,  and  saw  that  she  had  wandered  a  hundred  roomi 
out  of  her  way.  She  stopped  short  to  consider  which 


208 


oi  the  corridors,  stretching  in  gas-lit  rotas  en  tJthe? 
hand,  would  conduct  her  soonest  to  the  desired  haven, 
when  a  gentleman  emerging  from  a  chamber  dose  by 
directly  upon  her  train. 


CHAPTER  XL 

IN  THE  BEBOUHD. 

BEG  your  pardon ! "  said  a  deep,  familiar 
Then  the  formality  vanished  from  face  and  ad 
dress.  "  Is  this  you  f  "  holding  ont  his  hand  in 
hearty  friendliness  that  instantly  dispelled  Kosa'p 
forebodings.  "  What  or  whom  are  yon  seeking  in 
these  wilds?" 

The  crystal  beads  glistened  upon  her  lashes  in  the 
fulness  and  joy  of  her  deliverance  from  doubt  and 
fear,  and  before  she  could  twinkle  them  back,  broke 
into  smaller  brilliants  upon  her  cheeks  and  the  bosom 
of  her  dress.  It  was  very  babyish  and  foolish,  but  it 
is  to  be  questioned  whether  she  could  have  contrived 
a  more  telling  situation  had  she  studied  it  for  a  month. 
"  What  is  it ! "  inquired  Frederic,  kindly,  not  releas 
ing  the  fingers  that  twitched,  more  than  struggled,  in 
his.  "  Have  you  been  frightened  ? " 

"Yes,"  with  grieved,  but  fearless  simplicity  rtl 
was  frightened  because  I  thought  I  had  offended  you 
—  perhaps  driven  you  away — and  that  I  should  nevei 


m  TSM 

be  Able  to  ask  your  forgiveness  for  my  cruel  abrupt 
ness  last  night  I  In  thinking  about  and  worrying  OTCT 
this,  I  somehow  lost  my  way,  and  was  just  trying  to 
remember  by  what  route  I  reached  this  strange  neigh 
borhood,  when  your  appearance  startled  me." 

"You  did  not  know,  then,  that  this  is  Bachelor*! 
Hall  —  the  haunt  of  unmated  Benedicts,  wifeless  vis 
itors  to  the  city,  and  celibate  M.  C.'s?"  he  rejoined, 
pleasantly.  "  Let  me  be  your  guide  to  more  desirable 
as  well  as  more  accessible  quarters ! " 

On  the  stairs  he  bent  to  scan  her  blushing  counta 
nance. 

"  How  am  I  to  punish  you  for  your  naughty  distrust 
of  my  friendship  and  common  sense  1  I  have  been  too 
busy  all  day  to  spare  a  minute  for  social  pleasure.  I 
dined  at  two  o'clock,  having  an  appointment  at  three, 
returned  at  half -past  five,  and  was  just  coming  down  to 
your  parlor  to  look  you  up.  Another  bit  of  unimport 
ant  news,  with  which  I  should  not  have  annoyed  you 
if  you  had  not  merited  a  little  vexation  by  your  pre 
posterous  fancies,  is,  that,  instead  of  taking  an  early 
train  to  Philadelphia,  I  have  to-day  entered  into  en 
gagements  that  will  oblige  me  to  prolong  my  stay  in 
this  place  untr  the  first  of  February." 

He  looked  bright  and  cheerful,  ready  for  sport  or 
badinage.  Rosa  caught  herself  wondering  maisy  times 
during  that  evening,  and  the  succeeding  days  £f  thai 
three  weeks  they  passed  urder  the  same  roof,  it  she 


806  OT  THE  REBOUND. 

had  dreamed  of — not  beheld  with  her  bodJy  optics— 
that  one  stormy  burst  of  passion  which  had  been  hit 
farewell  to  the  hope  of  a  final  reconciliation  with 
Mabel  Aylett. 

He  never  spoke  of  her  again,  or  referred,  in  the 
moet  distant  manner,  to  his  visit  at  Ridgeley.  The 
omission  was  an  agreeable  one  to  Eosa  for  several  rea 
sons.  Silence,  she  believed,  was  to  oblivion  as  a  means 
to  an  end.  Judging  from  herself,  she  adopted  the  the 
ory  that  people  were  apt  to  forget  what  they  never 
talked  of  themselves,  nor  heard  mentioned  by  others. 
Furthermore,  she  was  relieved  from  the  necessity  of 
concocting  diplomatic  evasions,  dexterously  skirting  the 
truth,  to  say  nothing  of  plump  falsehoods.  These  last 
cost  her  conscience  some  unpleasant  twinges.  To  avoid 
narrating  in  full  what  had  happened  was  a  work  of  art. 
A  downright  lie  was  a  stroke  of  heavy  business,  unsuit- 
ed  to  her  airy  genius  —  and  when  the  Aylett-Chilton 
complication  was  upon  the  topis,  it  was  difficult  to 
avoid  undertaking  such. 

For  three  weeks,  then,  Mr.  Frederic  Chilton  and  the 
Virginian  belle  visited  concert,  theatre,  and  assembly- 
room  in  company,  sat  side  by  side  in  the  spectators'  gal- 
ery  of  House  and  Senate  chamber,  walked  in  daylight 
along  the  broad  avenues  from  one  magnificent  distance 
to  another,  and  on  hom>evening8  —  which  wero  not 
many  —  chatted  together  familiarly,  the  well-pleased 
thought  «M>nfvkmtiaUy,  by  the  fireside  in  the 


Or  THE  REBGUNL.  S07 

family  parlor.  It  must  not  be  inferred  from  then*  con 
gtant  intercourse  that  he  had  the  field  entirely  to  him. 
sell  Gallants  of  divers  pretensions  —  first-class,  me 
iiocre,  and  contemptible  — considered  with  a  practical 
eye  to  "  settlement,"  hovered  about  the  fascinating 
witch  as  moths  about  a  gas-burner,  and  had  no  citable 
cause  of  complaint  of  non-appreciation,  inasmuch  as 
she  shed  equal  light  upon  all,  save  one.  "  My  very  old 
friend,  Mr.  Chilton,"  she  was  wont  to  denominate  him 
in  conversation  with  those  who  inwardly  called  them- 
eelves  fools  for  their  jealousy  of  a  man  of  whom  she 
ffpoke  thus  frankly,  with  never  a  stammer  or  blush;  yet 
they  acknowledged  to  themselves  all  the  while  that 
they  were  both  suspicious  and  envious  of  his  superior 
advantages.  However  backward  Frederic  may  have 
been  in  the  beginning  to- monopolize  the  notice  and 
time  of  his  "  sisterly  friend,"  he  was  not  an  insensate 
block,  who  could  not  perceive  and  value  the  compli 
ment  paid  him  by  her  partiality  —  ever  apparent,  but 
never  unmaidenly.  Impute  it  to  whatever  motive  he 
!night,  the  distinction  titillated  his  van'ty,  touched,  at 
least,  the  outermost  covering  of  his  heart.  It  mignt  be 
pity,  it  might  be  pleasant,  mournful  memories  of  other 
days  —  it  was  most  likely  of  all  a  sincere  platonic  af 
fection  for  one  with  tastes  and  feelings  akin  to  here 
that  g*ve  lustre  to  her  eyes,  and  gentle  meaning  to  her 
wnile  when  he  drew  near.  At  any  rate,  it  would  be 
churlish  not  to  accept  the  preference  these  conreyed, 


208  17  THM  RXBOUNV. 

and  to  like  her  and  hia  position  as  her  chosen  knight 
better  every  day ;  it  was  inevitable  that  he  should  mar 
vel —  not  without  melancholy — at  the  flight  of  tim« 
that  brought  so  soon  the  day  of  parting. 

The  Masons,  with  himself,  were  engaged  to  attei  i  a 
large  party  on  the  last  evening  of  January.  Without 
analyzing  the  impulse  that  constrained  him  to  do  so,  he 
*»<id  refrained  from  reminding  Rosa  that  his  stay  in 
Washington  was  so  nearly  over,  and,  with  masculine 
consistency,  he  was  half  disposed  to  be  affronted  thai 
she  had  forgotten  what  he  had  said  to  her  of  its  extent 
He  had  never  seen  her  more  lively  —  in  more  radiant 
spirits  and  looks  — -than  she  was  upon  the  night  of  the 
30th.  He  had  dropped  into  her  aunt's  parlor  about 
ten  o'clock,  and  detected  lloea  in  the  act  of  dragging 
her  new  ball-dress  from  the  box  in  which  the  mantua 
maker  had  sent  it  home. 

"  Conceive,  if  you  can  —  but  you  can't,  being  a  man 
—  what  I  have  undergone  for  an  hour  and  tnore  I "  she 
cried,  at  seeing  him.  "  My  treasure  —  the  darlingest 
love  of  a  dress  I  have  ever  ordered — was  brought  in 
exactly  two  seconds  before  a  brace  of  honorables — lum 
bering  machines  that  they  are !  knocked  at  the  door. 
So,  lest  they  should  brand  me  as  a  frivolous  doll  (as  if 
anybody  with  a  soul,  and  an  infinitesimal  degree  of 
.ove  for  the  beautiful,  could  help  admiring  the  divine 
thing !),  I  pushed  the  poor  box  under  the  sofa,  and 
there  it  hai  lain  in  ignominious  neglect,  like  a  pearl  of 


Of  THM  SJfSOUNJk  909 

purest  ray  serene  smothered  in  an  oyster,  all  the  time 
they  were  here.  I  was  purposely  cross  and  stupid,  too, 
in  the  hope  of  getting  rid  of  them  the  sooner.  If  yo» 
despise  what  most  of  your  imdiscriminating  sex  call 
fancy  articles,  consider  a  woman's  fondness  for  a  Far- 
ifihing  robe  despicable  and  irrational,  Mr.  Chilton,  yon 
need  not  look  this  way.  You  could  hardly  have  • 
severer  —  certainly  not  a  more  appropriate  —  punish 
ment." 

"  You  depreciate  my  aesthetic  proclivities,"  he  re 
joined,  catching  her  tone.  "  You  would  not  trust  irn 
bungling  fingers  to  help  excavate  the  gem,  I  know;  but 
I  may  surely  use  my  eyes  —  admire,  as  we  bid  children 
do  —  with  my  hands  behind  my  back." 

Notwithstanding  his  boast  of  knowingness  in  the 
mysteries  of  feminine  apparel,  he  could  not  have  told 
of  what  material  the  divine  robe  was  made  —  except 
that  it  was  some  shiny  white  stuff,  with  wide  embroid 
ery  upon  the  flounces.  But  Eosa,  her  aunt,  and  cousin 
had  gone  into  ecstacies  over  it,  and  instigated  by  kind 
hearted  Mrs.  Mason,  the  enraptured  owner  had  rushed 
off  to  Mrs.  Mason's  chamber  to  try  it  on,  returning 
presently  in  full  array,  elate  at  the  "perfect  fit,"  and 
insisting  apon  a  unanimous  declaration  that  she  "  had 
never  before  worn  anything  one-thousandth  part  aa 
becoming." 

"It  is  a  winsome,  fantastic,  enchanting  little 
being!"  remarked  Mr.  Chilton,  in  solilocuy  at  hit 


310  Of  THB  R&30UJX&, 

dressing-table,  the  next  evening.    "I  hope  she 
enjoy  the  gathering  to-night,  as  she  hopes  to  do.    Will 
•he  miss  ine  at  the  next  she  attends  ? " 

Then  —  laughing  at  the  sentimental  visage  portrayed 
apon  the  mirror  —  "  It  would  be  the  acme  of  ludicrous 
folly  for  me  to  disturb  myself  on  that  score.  We  have 
had  a  pleasart  time  together — she  and  I — and  to 
morrow  it  will  be  over.  There  is  the  whole  story  —  ex 
cept  that,  in  a  month  I  shall  cease  to  think  of  her,  un- 
*tsss  her  name  is  accidentally  uttered  in  my  hearing  — 
I  wish  I  could  forget  some  other  things  as  easily !  — 
and  she  will  probably  be  the  affianced  darling  of  one 
of  the  lumbering  Honorables — the  elder  and  homelier 
of  the  brace,  I  fancy,  since  he  is  the  wealthier,  and  the 
humming-bird  should  have  a  fitting  cage." 

Expressing  in  his  composed  lineaments  and  firm 
stride  nothing  like  disconsolateness  at  the  programme, 
he  flung  his  cloak  over  his  arm,  took  his  white  gloves 
in  his  hand,  cast  a  passing  glance  at  the  glass  to  se* 
that  his  whiskers  and  hair  were  in  order,  and  ran  dowr. 
the  two  flights  of  stairs  lying  between  Bachelor's  Ha£ 
«nd  the  Masons'  private  parlor. 

u  Come  in f "  said  a  plaintive  voice,  in  answer  to  his 
knock. 

Bosa  was  alone  in  the  cosy  apartment.  She  wai 
curled  up  in  a  great  padded  chair,  set  upon  the  hearth 
rug.  Her  dress  was  a  plain  black  silk;  she  wore  a 
•owlet  shawl,  and  her  head-gear  was  some  odd,  but 


m  THE  RXBQUN&  211 

difitractingly  pretty  construction  of  white  lace,  a  square 
folded  in  two  unequal  triangles,  and  knotted  loosely, 
handkerchief -wise,  the  points  in  front,  under  her  chin. 

"Not  ready!"  exclaimed  Frederic,  in  merry  re» 
proach,  u  You,  the  model  of  punctual  women  1 " 

"  I  am  not  going ! "  sighed  the  humming-bird,  dol 
orously.  "  I  have  had  a  horrid  sore  throat  all  day  — 
and  —  a  —  headache  —  and  Aunt  Mary  got  frightened, 
and  forbade  me  to  put  my  head  out  of  doors." 

"  That  is  a  heart-rending  affliction  1  And  coul  1  you 
aot  send  the  incomparable  dress  as  your  rep/<^enta 
rive?" 

"  Don't  laugh  1 "  she  said,  jerking  away  her  Lead.  "  I 
cannot  bear  it  to-night  -  -  not  that  I  care  the  millionth 
part  of  a  fig  for  all  the  parties  in  Christendom ;  and  as 
for  the  dress,  you  think  that  I  haven't  *  soul  above 
such  frippery  and  gewgaws:  but  I  wisL  I  had  never 
seen  it  I  shall  never  wear  it  as  long  as  I  live  1 " 

And  out  came  the  laced  cambric  to  absorb  the  gath 
ering  dew. 

"  There  is  something  in  this  I  do  not  understand," 
said  Frederic,  setting  a  chair  for  himself  close  to  hen, 
"  Are  you  really  suffering  ?  I  imagined  that  yours  wa§ 
a  case  of  simple  cold,  and  that  Mrs.  Mason  advised  yot* 
to  remain  indoors  chiefly  on  account  of  the  weather. 
It  is  raining  hard f " 

"  I  am  glad  it  is  I "  she  replied,  with  the  manner  of 
one  bereft  of  honan  sympathy,  and  extracting  gloomy 


213  ux  raa 


delight  from  the  unison  of  nature  with  her  Jioibid 
brooding*.  "  And  my  throat  isn't  nearly  so  painful  ai 
I  made  Aunt  Mary  believe.  I  did  not  want  to  go  out 
Parties  are  an  awful  bore  when  one  is  sad-hearted." 

"You  really  must  forgive  me!"  said  Frederic,  at 
she  twitched  her  face  away  again  at  the  laugh  he  could 
not  suppress.  "  But  sadness  and  you  should  not  be 
thought  of  in  the  same  week.  Honestly,  now  !  is  not 
the  inimitable  fabric  you  sported  for  five  minutes  las* 
night,  at  the  bottom  of  what  appears  to  you  a  fathom 
less  abyss  of  woe?  Have  you  tried  the  efficacy  o* 
rational  consolation  in  the  thought  of  how  many  more 
parties  there  will  be  this  winter  to  which  you  can  wear 
it  ?  The  Secretary  of  State  is  to  give  one  in  ten  days, 
which  is  to  be  the  sensation  of  the  season.  That  of  to 
night  is,  in  comparison,  as  a  caucus  to  a  general  con 
vention." 

"  I  shall  never  put  on  the  hateful  thing  again.  If 
Julia  Cunningham  chooses  to  bedizen  herself  in  it,  she 
is  welcome  to  it  —  flounces  «Ld  all.  Yet  I  did  like  it  I 
I  had  hoped  —  but  no  matter  what  I  You  had  better 
be  going,  Mr.  Chilton,  Aunt  and  the  rest  of  them 
went  three-quarters  of  an  hour  ago." 

"  Does  a  dress  go  out  of  fashion  in  so  short  a  time  ?" 
persisted  innocent  Frederic,  bent  upon  mitigating  her 
sorrow.  "  If  my  memory  serves  me  aright,  I  have  seen 
ladies  wear  the  same  ball-dress  several  times  In  the 
•urne  winter  n 


U9  THE  &EBOU8&.  213 

u  You  will  never  see  this  on  me,"  snapped  Rosa,  her 
eyes  ominously  fiery  again.  "  Did  yen  heai  me  advtet 
you  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour  I " 

"Suppose  I  decline  appearing  at  all  in  the  festa 
aeene  I "  said  the  gentleman.  "  I  shall  not  be  missed. 
I  will  just  run  down  and  dismiss  the  carriage  —  then, 
with  your  permission,  will  return  and  spend  the  eve 
ning  here*" 

Her  cheeks  looked  as  if  they  had  been  touched  with 
wet  vermilion,  when  he  resumed  his  place  near  her, 
%nd  the  folds  of  the  handkerchief  in  her  hand  hung 
more  limply. 

"  I  ought  not  to  allow  this  sacrifice  I "  she  faltered 
gratefully.  "  Because  I  hava  the  vapors,  I  have  no 
right  to  keep  you  within  reach  of  the  infection.  It  ii 
ehamefully,  wickedly  selfish  1 " 

"  It  is  no  such  thing  1 "  he  contradicted.  "  If  you 
would  know  the  truth,  I  was,  myself,  averse  to  attend 
ing  this  *  crush.'  But  for  your  indisposition,  I  should 
hail  with  unmixed  pleasure  the  chance  that  releases  me 
from  the  obligation  to  form  a  part  of  the  throng.  It  is 
far  more  in  consonance  with  my  feelings  to  pass  this, 
our  last  evening  together,  as  we  have  spent  so  many 
others,  in  quiet  talk  at  this  fireside.  I  had  not  sup 
posed  it  possible  that  I  could  ever  feel  so  much  at 
home  in  a  hDtel — a  Washington  caravansary  especially 
—M!  have  with  in  the  last  three  weeks.  Do  you  know, 
me  have  you  not  burdened  your  memory  with  such  un- 


214  I2f  THti 


important  memoranda  as  the  fact,  that  I  must  set  my 
face  Philadelphia-  ward  tomorrow  t  " 

"  I  had  not  dreamed  that  the  time  was  BO  near  at 
band  —  it  seemed  such  a  little  while  since  the  evening 
of  onr  arrival  —  until  I  happened,  last  night,  after  you 
left  us,  to  take  up  Mrs.  Rogers'  invitation-card  for  this 
evening.  Then,  I  recollected  I  " 

Her  listless  resignation  had  in  it  something  piteous, 
and  the  lever  of  compassion  impelled  him  to  further 
efforts  of  cheer. 

"  I  have  to  thank  you  for  all  the  enjoyment  of  my 
visit  to  this,  heretofore  to  me,  dismal  city.  If  you 
should  ever  visit  Philadelphia  —  as  I  earnestly  hope 
you  will  —  you  must  acquaint  me  with  your  where 
abouts  immediately  upon  your  arrivmL  I  should  be 
sorry  to  think  that  our  friendship  is  -^  end  here  and 
now." 

"  As  well  here  and  now,  as  anywksre  and  at  any 
time  I  "  returned  Rosa,  yet  more  recignedly.  "  And 
the  end  must  come,  sooner  or  later.  sfhis  was  what  i 
was  saying  over  to  myself  when  you  came  in.  I  am  a 
fool  —  a  baby  —  to  mind  it  I"  angrily  dashing  away 
the  obtrusive  brine  from  her  mournful  eyelids.  a  I 
wish  you  would  leave  me  alone  for  a  few  minutes,  Mr, 
Chilton,  until  I  can  behave  myself  I  " 

For  a  second  it  seemed  that  her  companion  would 
taka  hm  at  her  word,  BO  puzzled  and  troubled  was  hi? 


IN  THB  REBOUND.  215 

countenance,  and  he  moved  slightly,  as  about  to  cbey 
the  petulant  behest ;  then  sat  stilL 

"  I  have  found  no  fault  in  your  behavior  I "  he  said, 
(•90  coolly  to  please  Kosa's  notion, 

"  I  know  you  despise  me  I "  she  burst  forth,  chok 
jagiy.  "  I  fcelievs  I  am  hysterical,  and  the  more  I  rail 
at  my  stupidity  and  folly,  the  more  unmanageable  my 
nerves  —  if  it  is  my  nerves  that  are  out  of  order  —  be 
come.  But  I  have  been  so  happy,  so  content  aaid 
grateful,  lately !  And  everything  will  be  so  different 
after  —  after  to-morrow  !  " 

Her  voice  had  failed  to  a  sobbing  whisper,  and  tb« 
diaphanous  cambric  veiled  her  bowed  face. 

Frederic  Chilton  did  not  stir  a  finger  or  attempt  to 
speak  for  a  full  minute,  but  in  that  minute  he  thought 
a  volume,  felt  acutely. 

This,  then,  was  what  he  had  been  doing  in  his  hours 
of  relaxation  from  the  business  which  had  occupied  his 
mind  tc  the  banishment  of  nearly  every  other  consid 
eration ;  that  had  driven  into  comparative  obscurity  thw 
old  gnawing  grief  which  had  incorporated  itself  with 
his  being !  The  intimacy  with  a  beautiful,  sprightly 
girl  had  been  a  holiday  diversion  to  him  after  arduous 
brain-labor,  recreation  sought  conscientiously  and  sys 
tematically,  that  his  mental  powers  might  be  clearer 
and  fresher  for  the  next  day's  toil  in  court  and  among 
perplexing  records;  in  hunting  up  tit.es  and  disputed 
property,  and  proving  their  validity.  He  had  gained 


916  Df  TOM  &XBQU29& 

the  cause  that  had  brought  him  to  the  capital,  and  sows 
him  BO  much  fatigue  and  anxiety,  and  was  prond  of  hi* 
success.  But  what  of  this  other  piece  cf  work  ?  Would 
not  the  most  cold-blooded  flirt,  who  ever  prated  oi 
fidelity,  when  he  meant  betrayal  and  desertion,  blush 
to  father  this  business  ?  And  she,  poor,  guileless  lamb, 
must  bear  the  pain,  the  mortification,  perhaps  the  con 
tumely,  which  ought  to  be  his  in  seven-fold  measure  I 

"  Stay,  Kosa !"  he  said,  huskily,  when  she  attempted 
*o  rise.  "  Do  not  leave  me  yet.  I  may  not  be  alto 
gether  so  unworthy,  so  basely  callous  as  I  have  given 
you  reason  to  suppose.  Can  it  be  that  I  have  miscon 
strued  what  you  have  said,  or  do  you  really  care  that 
on/  separation  is  BO  near?  I  had  not  thought  of 
this." 

"I  understand."  She  lowered  her  flag  of  distrest 
and  confronted  him  sorrowfully,  not  in  resentment 
*'  You  believed  me  incapable  of  deep  and  lasting  feel 
ing  ;  saw  in  me  no  more  than  the  world  does,  a  giddy 
coquette,  feather-haired  and  shallow-hearted.  Be  it  so. 
Perhaps  it  is  best  that  you  should  not  be  undeceived- 
Such  injustice  and  prejudice  are  the  penalties  a  woman 
must  suffer  who  wears  a  tinsel  cloak  over  her  finei 
affections  —  admits  but  few,  sometimes  but  one,  to  hei 
sanctum  sanctorum.  The  gushing,  loving,  extensively- 
loving  class  fare  batter.  You  have  been  very  kind  and 
attentive  to  me  in  my  strangerhood  here,  Mr.  Chilton, 
I  must  always  revert  to  your  conduct  with  gratitude 


Of  TOM  BMBOtTNZL  81? 

By  the  way"  —  a  hysterical  laugh  breaking  into  her 
dignified  acknowledgment  of  benefit*  received  — 
*that  h  the  game,  in  substance,  that  yon  said  to  me  a 
while  ago,  isn't  it  t  So  we  are  even — owe  each  other 
uothing." 

"  Except  to  lore  one  another."  The  solemn  accenta 
hashed  her  reckless  prattle.  "  Rosa,  can  you  learn  this 
lesson!" 

She  had  shrank  down  —  sunk  is  not  the  word  to 
convey  an  idea  of  the  prostration  of  strength,  the  col 
lapse  of  resolution,  expressed  by  the  figure  cowering 
in  the  deep  chair,  its  face  upborne  and  hidden  by  the 
shaking  hands.  They  were  cold  as  ice,  Frederic  felt, 
when  he  would  have  drawn  them  aside. 

"  We  will  have  no  foolish  reserves,  my  child.  Much, 
if  not  all,  the  happiness  of  our  future  lives  may  de 
pend  upon  our  perfect  sincerity  now.  You  do  not 
require  to  be  told  how  poor  is  the  offering  of  my  heart. 
You  are  the  only  person  who  has  ever  entered  into  the 
secret  of  ite  emptiness  and  desolation;  seen  blight, 
where  there  should  be  bloom;  ashes,  where  liaine 
ahould  glow.  But  such  as  it  is,  it  is  yours,  if  you  wil] 
have  it.  If  you  are  willing  to  trust  yourself  with  me, 
I  will  cherish  as  I  now  honor  you,  truly  and  forever ; 
leave  no  means  untried  that  can  add  to  your  happiness. 
Dare  you  make  the  venture  ? " 

Her  unstudied  caress  was  beautiful  and  pathetic  in 
its  lowliness  of  humility  and  earnest  affection  —tew 


218  U»  THE  REBOUND. 

earnest  for  the  commonplace  outlet  of  words.  It  was 
to  slip  to  her  knees  at  his  feet,  and  kiss  his  hand,  th«au 
lay  her  cheek  upon  it,  as  some  dumb,  devoted  thing 
might  do. 

Then  she  was  lifted  into  his  arms,  and  kissed  with  * 
fervor  she  mistook  for  awakening  passion,  and  her 
neart  bounded  more  madly  in  the  belief  that  her  vic 
tory  was  complete,  that  he  would  henceforward  be  hers 
in  feeling  as  in  name. 

Yet  the  words  breathed  into  her  ear  as  her  head 
rested  upon  his  bosom  might  have  taught  her  the  fal 
lacy  of  her  conviction  and  her  hopes. 

"  My  noble,  faithful  girl  I  What  have  I  to  offer  yoTi 
hi  payment  for  all  this  3 " 

"  I  ask  nothing,  except  the  right  to  be  with,  and  t« 
•erve  yon  1 "  responded  Eosa. 

And  aho  thought  she  spoke  the  whole  truth  foi 


CHAPTER  TTTT 

AUHT  KACHEL  WAXES   UNCHARITABLE. 

SLY,  artful,  treacherous  jade?"  articulated 
Mrs.  Button,  energetically.  "  I  have  no  patience 
with  her.  And  they  say  she  is  so  overjoyed  at 
her  conquest  that  she  trumpets  the  engagement 
everywhere.  Such  shameless  carrying  on  I  never 
heard  of.  If  she  ever  crosses  my  path  I  shall  treat 
her  to  some  wholesome  truths." 

"What  good  would  that  do,  aunt?"  asked  Mabea 
Dorrance,  without  raising  her  head  from  her  sewing, 
"  And  what  has  she  done  that  should  incense  you  or 
any  one  else  against  her?  She  was  free  to  choose  a 
husband,  and  we  have  no  right  to  cavil  at  her  choice. 
I  hope  she  will  be  very  happy.  I  used  to  love  her  — 
we  loved  each  other  very  fondly  once.  There  are  some 
excellent  traits  in  Rosa's  character,  and  when  she  ie  once 
married  she  will  be  less  volatile." 

"  Don't  you  believe  it  Her  flightiness  and  insincer 
ity  are  ingrain  1  I  believed  in  her  once  myself  —  she 
had  such  beguiling  ways,  it  was  hard  to  disapprove  of 

0U0) 


AUNT  RACHEL  WAXES  UNCHARITABLE. 


anything  she  said  or  did.  Bat  I  was  secretly  aware, 
all  the  time,  that  there  was  a  radical  defect  in  hei 
composition.  A  woman  who  has  been  engaged,  or  a* 
good  as  engaged,  to  six  or  eight  different  men,  cannot 
retain  much  purity  of  mind  or  strength  of  affection, 
I  heard  you  tell  her  yourself  once  that  such  unscrupu 
lous  flirtation  and  bandying  of  hearts  were  profane 
touches  that  rubbed  the  down  from  the  peach." 

That  was  the  extravagant  talk  of  a  silly,  romantic 
£irl,"  replied  Mabel,  with  a  smile  that  changed  to  a 
sigh  before  the  sentence  was  finished.  "  I  was  some 
what  given  to  lecturing  other  people,  in  those  days, 
upon  subjects  of  which  I  knew  little  or  nothing. 
Nine  men  out  of  ten  care  little  how  roughly  the  peach 
has  been  rubbed,  provided  the  flavor  is  not  injured  to 
their  taste.  It  is  only  once  in  a  great  while  that  yon 
meet  with  one  whose  palate  is  so  nice  that  he  can  de 
tect  the  difference  between  fruit  that  has  been  hawked 
through  the  market  and  that  just  picked  from  the  tree. 
First  love  is  a  myth  at  which  rational  people  laugh." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  Mrs.  Sutton  dubiously. 

In  view  of  the  circumstances  of  Mabel's  marriage, 
she  felt  that  it  behooved  her  to  be  circumspect  in  con 
demnation  of  transferred  affections. 

"  But  that  docs  not  alter  the  fact  of  Kosa  TazewelPi 
infamous  behavior  to  Alfred  Branch  and  others  of 
her  beaux.  Isn't  the  poor  fellow  drinking  himself 
Into  his  grave,  all  through  his  disappointment  ?  And 


1UNT  &AOHXL  WAXES  UNCH±3ITABtJL      221 

hjere  she  is  going  to  be  as  honored  a  wife  as  if  she  had 
never  perjured  herself,  or  mined  an  honest,  loving 
man's  prospects  for  life  1 " 

Mabel  went  on  with  her  work,  and  did  not  reply. 

"  I  have  had  uncomfortable  suspicions  about  certain 
passages  in  her  intercourse  with  us,  since  I  heard  thia 
news,"  continued  Mrs.  Button,  edging  her  chair  toward 
her  niece,  and  dropping  her  voice.  u  I  am  afraid  I 
can  date  the  beginning  of  her  cruelty  to  Alfred  back 
to  that  September  she  spent  here --to  the  latter  part 
of  it,  I  mean.  Little  scenes  come  to  my  memory  that 
caused  me  trifling  uneasiness  then.  I  shall  never  for 
get,  for  instance,  how  she  eyed  you,  the  morning  Win 
ston  came  home  so  unexpectedly." 

And  she  described  the  incident  recorded  in  the  lat 
ter  part  of  our  opening  chapter. 

"  Can  it  be,"  she  pursued,  "  that  she  had  even  then 
designs  upon  the  man  she  is  about  to  marry!  She 
knew  all  the  circumstances  of  the  trouble  that  ensued, 
and  if  disposed  to  be  meddlesome,  she  had  the  mean* 
at  her  command." 

*  I  told  her  nothing,"  said  Mabel  briefly. 

*  But  she  pumped  me  pretty  effectually,"  confessed 
the  aunt  shamefacedly.    "  I  thought  there  could  be  no 
harm  in  giving  her  a  synopsis  of  the  case  —  she  being 
your  intimate  friend." 

Another  gleam  of  pensive  amusement  crossed  Ma 
bel's  face.  She  knew  too  well  the  nature  of  her 


222      AUJfT  RAOHJSL  WAXES  UXCHAHFTABLX 

aunt's  "  synopsis "  to  doubt  that  Eosa  was  conversant 
with  every  phase  of  the  affair,  concerning  which  he* 
OWE  lips  had  been  so  sternly  sealed. 

"  You  nave  nothing  with  which  to  reproach  your- 
aelf ,"  she  said,  tranquilly.    "  She  marries  with  her  eyes 


"  Yon  don't  imagine  for  one  instant  that  she  wonld 
be  annoyed  by  any  such  scruples  as  beset  you ! "  cried 
Mrs.  Button  scoffingly.  "  Why,  the  woman  would  soon 
er  go  to  the  altar  with  a  handsome,  dashing  libertine, 
who  had  broken  hearts  by  the  dozen,  than  marry  a 
quiet,  honest  Christian,  who  had  never  breathed  oi 
love  to  any  ears  except  hers.  The  aim  of  her  life  is  to 
create  or  experience  a  sensation.  I  don't  quite  see 
how  she  could  hare  made  trouble  in  that  sad  affair,  but 
I  should  like  to  be  positive  that  she  did  not." 

"  You  may  safely  acquit  her  of  that  sin,"  rejoined 
MabeL  "  There  was  neither  need  nor  room  for  her  in 
terference.  Whatever  may  have  been  her  inclination, 
she  was  shrewd  enough  to  perceive  that  the  natural 
course  of  events  was  bringing  about  the  desired  end  — 
if  it  were  a  desirable  one  to  her  —  without  her  help 
or  hindrance.  But,  aunt !  doesn't  it  strike  you  that 
this  IB  a  very  profitless  talk,  and  very  uncharitable  f 
It  is  a  sorry  task,  this  volunteering  our  assistance  to 
the  dead  past  to  bury  "ts  dead.  And  I,  for  one,  have 
too  much  bound  up  in  the  future  to  offer  my  servicei 
in  the  painful  work.  Look !  is  not  this  pretty !" 


ATTRT  RACHEL  WAXE8  UNOHARITABLB.       223 

She  was  embroidering  a  white  merino  cloak  for  *n 
Infant,  in  a  pattern  so  rich  and  elaborate,  that  Mrs.  But 
ton  groaned  in  commingled  admiration  and  sympathy 
as  fihe  inspected  it. 

"You  are  throwing  time  and  strength  away  upon 
this  work ! "  she  expostulated.  "  I  don't  know  another 
lady  in  yonr  circumstances  who  would  not  take  hei 
friends'  advice,  and  put  out  all  the  sewing  you  need  to 
have  done.  But  your  eyes  and  fingers  have  labored 
tncessantly  for  six  months  upon  the  finest  work  you 
jould  devise,  and  you  begin  to  look  like  a  shadow. 
I  don't  wonder  Mr.  Dorrance  seems  uneasy  sometimes. 
He  complained  this  morning  that  you  did  not  tabs 
«nongh  exercise  in  the  open  air." 

u  He  is  not  anxious,  nor  should  he  be.     I  am  well, 
*nd  stronger  than  you  will  believe.    As  to  the  work,  it 
has  been  one  great  delight  of  my  existence  during  the 
period  you  speak  of.    I  could  not  endure  that  anybody 
but  myself  should  assist  in  fashioning  the  dainty,  tiny 
garments  that  make  my  hope  an  almost  present  reality 
Every  stitch  seems  to  bring  nearer  the  fulfilment  cl 
the  dear  promise.    I  only  regret  that  this  is  the  last  of 
the  set.     I  shall  be  at  a  loss  for  occupation  for  the 
next  t^o  months.    And  I  fear  from  something  Her 
bert  said  to-day,  that  he  does  not  intend  for  jae  tc  re 
turn  to  Albany  until  the  spring  fairly  opens.    Dr.  Wli 
liana*  has  been  talking  to  him  about  my  cough." 


824      AUNT  RACHEL  WAXES  UNCHARITABLE. 

u  Dr.  Williams  is  a  fussy  old  woman*  an<?  Mr.  Dor 
ranee  "  —  began  Mrs.  Button. 

Mabel  quietly  took  up  the  word. 

"Mr.  Dorrance  is  ignorant  of  diseases  and  medicine*, 
as  men  usually  are  who  have  not  studied  these  with  a 
view  to  practise  upon  themselves  or  others.  I  have 
•aid  that  he  is  not  really  uneasy;  but  he  says, 
and  with  truth,  that  the  Northern  March  and  April 
are  raw  and  cold,  and  will  try  my  strength  severely 
Winston  and  Clara  share  in  his  fears.  It  is  very  kinc> 
hi  them  to  tender  me  the  hospitalities  of  their  house 
for  so  long  a  time,  but  I  should  feel  more  at  home  in 
my  own,  during  my  illness  and  convalescence." 

"  Why  not  tell  your  husband  this  plainly  1 " 

*  Because  it  might  bias  his  judgment  and  embarrass 
his  action.  I  am  willing  to  do  as  he  thinks  best." 

There  were  not  many  subjects  upon  which  Mrs.  But 
ton  was  irascible,  but  she  patted  the  floor  with  he* 
foot  now  as  if  this  was  one  of  them — her  discontent 
finding  vent  at  length  in  what  she  regarded  as  a  per* 
fiostly  safe  query. 

"  Will  he  remain  with  you!" 

"  He  cannot  His  business  is  large  and  increasing 
He  can  afford  but  this  one  fortnight  vacation." 

"  How  do  you  expect  to  get  along  without  him  I" 

"  I  expect  my  dear  old  aunt  to  come  often  and  sec 
me,"  said  Mabel  affectionately,  parrying  the  catechism 
*  Clara  iuggeeted,  of  her  own  accord,  when  th*  exteu 


AUNT  RACHEL  WAXES  UNCHARITABLE.      221 

•ion  of  my  visit  was  discussed,  that  you  siiould  be  in 
vited  to  be  with  me  late  in  April  —  and  I  don't  want 
yon  to  refuse.  Do  yon  understand,  and  mean  to  be 
complaisant?  You  are  all  the  mother  I  have  ever 
known,  auntie." 

"  My  lamb !  you  need  not  fear  lest  I  shall  not  im 
prove  every  opportunity  of  seeing  and  comforting  you. 
I  shall  return  a  civil  and  grateful  reply  to  Mrs.  Aylett's 
invitation,  for  your  sake  1  and  for  the  same  reason  try 
and  remember,  while  I  remain  her  guest,  that  her 
right  to  be  and  to  reign  at  Ridgeley  is  superior  to 
yours  or  mine." 

The  good  lady  was  not  to  be  harshly  censured  if 
she  now  and  then,  in  private  confabulation  with  her 
favorite,  let  fall  a  remark  which  was  the  reverse  of 
complimentary  to  her  niece-in-law.  Mabel's  marriage 
was  the  signal  for  a  radical  reorganization  of  the  Ridge- 
ley  domestic  establishment,  by  which  Mrs.  Sutton  wag 
reduced  from  the  busy,  responsible  situation  of  house 
keeper  to  the  unenviable  one  of  unnoticed  and  uncon- 
aulted  supernumerary. 

"  Not  that  I  wish  you  to  desert  your  old  quarten, 
still  less  to  feel  like  a  stranger  with  us,"  said  Mrs.  Ay- 
lett  graciously,  while  she  affixed  fthim'ng  brass  labels  to 
the  keys  of  closets,  sideboards,  and  store-rooms  —  the 
keys  Aunt  Rachel  could  distinguish  from  one  another, 
and  all  others  in  the  world,  in  the  darkest  night, 
without  any  label*  whatever;  which  had  growc 


226      AUNT  RACHEL  WAXES  UNCHARITABLE. 

smooth  and  bright  by  many  years'  friction  of  her  nim. 
ble  fingers.  "But  Mr.  Aylett  wishes  me  to  assume 
the  real,  as  well  as  nomiral,  government  of  the  estab 
lishment" —  Mrs.  Aylett  was  fond  of  the  poiysj liable 
as  conveying  better  than  any  Dther  term  she  could  em 
ploy  the  grandeur  of  her  position  as  BaroEess  oi 
Bidgeley.  "  He  insists  that  the  servants  are  growing 
worthless  and  refractory  under  the  rule  of  so  many. 
Hereafter — this  is  his  law,  not  mine — hereafter,  those 
attached  to  the  house  department  are  to  come  to  me 
about  their  orders,  and  the  plantation  workmen  to  him. 
I  shall  undoubtedly  have  much  trouble  in  curing 
the  satellites  appointed  to  me  of  their  irregular  habits, 
and  reducing  them  to  something  resembling  system ; 
but  Winston's  extreme  dissatisfaction  with  the  anarchy 
that  prevailed  under  the  ancien  regime  moves  me  to 
the  undertaking." 

"They  have  always — for  generations  back,  I  may 
gay — been  called  excellent  servants;  faithful  in  the 
discharge  of  their  duties,  and  attached  to  their  owners," 
returned  Mrs.  Button  tremulously.  "  And  since  I  have 
been  in  charge — ever  since  my  dear  sister's  death,  I 
have  done  my  best  with  them,  as  with  everything 
else  committed  by  my  nephew  to  my  care.  But  of 
course  I  have  nothing  to  urge  against  your  plan.  If 
£  can  help  you  in  any  way  " 

"Thank  you!    You  are  extremely  khid,  my  dear 
madam,"  honeyedly.    "  But  1  should  be  ashamed  and 


AVNT  &AOHEL   WAXES  UNCHARITABLE.       227 

sorry  to  be  compelled  to  call  upon  you  for  assistance 
in  performing  what  yau  have  done  so  easily  and  suo 
cessfully  for  fifteen  years.  I  must  learn  confidence  in 
my  own  powers,  if  I  would  be  respected  by  underlings* 
They  would  be  quick  to  detect  the  power  behind  the 
throne  ;  let  me  hold  counsel  with  you  ever  so  secretly, 
and  my  authority  would  be  weakened  by  the  discovery. 
I  have  not  the  vanity  to  believe  that  my  maiden  at 
tempt  at  housewifery  will  be  attended  by  the  distinc 
tion  that  has  crowned  yours,  but  practice  will  perfect 
in  this,  as  in  other  labors.  And  my  dear  Mrs.  Button, 
Mr.  Aylett  bids  me  say,  in  his  name,  as  it  gives  me 
pleasure  to  do  in  my  own,  that  although  your  occupa 
tion  is  gone,  you  are  ever  welcome  to  a  home  at 
Ridgeley,  free  of  all  expense.  It  is  our  hope  that  you 
may  still  content  yourself  here,  even  if  Mabel  has  gone 
from  the  nest.  I  suppose,  however,  nothing  will  satisfy 
her,  when  she  goes  to  housekeeping,  but  having  you 
with  her  as  a  permanent  institution.  My  brother  inti 
mated  as  much  to  me  before  his  marriage." 

Declining  with  mild  ha,utew,  that  gave  great,  but 
secret  amusement  to  her  would-be  benefactress,  the 
liandsome  offer  of  a  free  asylum,  Mrs.  Button  went  to 
live  with  a  cousin  of  her  late  husband's,  whose  snug 
plantation  was  situated  about  twelve  miles  from  the 
Aylett  place,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Taze wells. 
It  was  a  pleasant,  but  not  a  permanent  arrangement 
she  g»ve  out  to  her  numerous  friends,  any  of  whom 


228       AUNT  8ACBML  WAJLS8  UNOHARITABLM 

would  have  accounted  themsebes  favored  by  an  to 
ceptance  of  a  home  for  life  in  their  families. 

"  Kidgeiey  was  changed  and  lonely  since  Mabel's  de 
parture,  and  her  own  habits  were  too  active  to  be  con 
formed  to  those  of  so  small  a  household.  Indeed,  there 
was  nothing  for  her  to  do  there  any  longer,  so  she  waf 
glad  to  avail  herself  of  Mrs.  William  Button's  invita 
tion  to  stay  a  while  with  her.  The  children  made  the 
house  so  lively.  In  the  fall,  the  house  Mr.  Dorrance 
was  having  built  for  his  Southern  bride  would  be  ready 
for  them,  and  Mabel's  claim  upon  her  aunt's  society 
and  services  must  take  precedence  of  all  others." 

The  fall  came,  and  Mabel  wrote  detailed  descrip 
tions  of  the  beautiful  home  Herbert  had  prepared  for 
her;  wiote, moreover,  with  more  feeling  and  anima 
tion,  of  the  new  and  precious  hopes  of  happiness  held 
out  to  her  loving  heart  in  the  prospect  of  what  the 
spring  would  give  into  her  arms,  but  said  nothing  of 
her  aunt's  coming  to  her  for  the  winter,  or  for  an  in 
definite  period,  the  bounds  of  which  were  to  be  set 
only  by  her  beloved  relative's  wishes.  The  omission 
was  trying  enough  to  the  foster-mother's  heart  and 
patience,  even  while  she  believed  the  knowledge  of  it  to 
be  confined  to  herself.  She  could  still  hold  up  her  head 
bravely  among  her  kindred  and  acquaintances,  and  talk 
of  the  a  dear  child's  "  good  fortune  and  contentment  with 
it ;  how  popular  and  beloved  she  was  among  them,  and 
what  an  elegant  house  her  generous  husband  had  be 


AUNT  RACHBL   WAXES  mrtEAKTABLS.      229 

stowed  upon  her ;  could  still  hint  at  the  instability  of 
her  own  plans,  and  the  possibility  that  she  night,  at  any 
day  or  hour,  determine  to  leave  her  native  State  and 
follow  her  "  daughter  "  into  what  the  latter  represented 
was  not  an  nnpleasant  exile. 

An  end  was  put  to  this  innocent  deception  —  for,  if 
any  deception  can  be  termed  innocent,  it  is  surely  that 
by  which  he  who  practises  it  is  himself  begoiled  —  the 
blameless  guile  was  then  arrested  by  a  story  repeated  to 
her  by  her  indignant  hosts,  as  having  emanated  directly 
from  Mrs.  Aylett.  She  had  given  expression,  publicly, 
at  a  large  dinner-party,  to  her  amazement  and  pity  at 
the  self-delusion  under  which  "  poor,  dear  Mrs.  Sutton  " 
labored,  in  expecting  to  take  up  her  residence  with  Mr 
and  Mrs.  Dorrance. 

"  My  brother  laments  her  hallucination  as  much,  if 
not  more  than  his  wife  does,"  she  said,  in  her  best 
modulations  of  creamy  compassion.  "  But,  indeed,  my 
dear  Mrs.  Branch,  they  are  not  accountable  for  it.  Not 
a  syllable  has  ever  escaped  either  of  them  which  a  rea 
sonable  person  could  construe  into  a  request  that  she 
should  become  an  inmate  of  their  household.  So 
careful  have  they  been  to  avoid  exciting  her  expeeta* 
tions  in  this  regard,  that  they  have  refrained  from  ex 
tending  to  her  an  invitation  for  even  a  month.  Those 
who  are  most  familiar  with  the  poor  lady's  peculiaritiet 
do  not  require  to  be  told  how  ill-advised  would  be  thf 
Arrangement  she  desires.  Mabel  is  a  thorough  y  sensi 


230       AUNT  RAOHSL  WAXES  UN 


ble  woman,  and  too  devoted  a  wife  to  advocate  any 
thing  so  injudicious,  while  her  husband  is  naturally 
jealous  for  her  dignity  and  the  inviolability  of  her  an- 
vhority  in  her  own  house.  Mrs.  Button  left  Ridgeley  IB 
opposition  to  our  earnest  entreaties  that  she  would  spend 
the  evening  of  her  days  with  us.  I  was  assured  then, 
as  I  am  now,  that  she  would  receive  the  same  love  and 
respect  nowhere  else.  But  she  could  not  brook  the 
semblance  of  interference  with  her  rule  where  she  had 
reigned  so  long  and  irresponsibly.  And  while  we  may 
deplore,  we  can  hardly  find  fault  with  this  weakness. 
It  must  have  been  a  trial  —  and  not  an  ordinary  one 
—  to  be  obliged,  at  her  age,  to  resign  the  sceptre  she 
had  swayed  for  upward  of  fifteen  years." 

"  *  Their  words  are  smoother  than  oil,  but  in  their 
mouths  is  a  drawn  sword,'"  quoted  Mrs.  Button,  in 
meek  protest  against  the%sugared  malice  of  this  slandei 
when  it  was  told  to  her.  "  This  is  none  of  Mabel's  do 
ings.  She  loves  me  dearly  as  ever,  but  one  might  as 
well  hope  to  move  the  Blue  Ridge  as  to  teach  that  prag 
matical  husband  of  hers  to  consult  her  wishes  and  her 
good,  before  he  does  his  own.  His  head  is  hard  as  a 
flint,  and  his  heart  —  never  mind  1  Heaven  forgive  me 
if  I  am  unjust  to  him  I  I  should  be  thankful  that  he 
does  not  really  irean  to  misuse  my  darling  Now,  my 
dears,  you  see  how  undesirable  an  inmate  of  any  house 
I  art  rated  to  be.  If  you  wish  to  retract  your  offer  cf 
»  hiding-place  for  my  old  head,  I  shall  not  take  it 


AUNT  RACHEL  WAXES  Z72I CHARITABLE.       2-31 

Thanka  to  Providence  and  my  dear  Frederic 
I  have  enough  to  maintain  me  decently  anywhere  in 
this  country.  I  shall  never  be  chargeable  to  anybody 
for  my  food,  victuals,  and  lodgings.  If  you  are  willing 
to  let  me  board  here  and  do  odd  stitches  for  the  chil 
dren  when  they  tear  their  aprons  and  rub  out  the  kueea 
of  their  trowsers — just  to  keep  me  out  of  mischief, 
you  understand !  —  I  promise  to  be  as  little  officious  in 
housewifely  concerns  as  it  is  in  my  nature  to  be." 

William  Sutton  and  his  wife — a  woman  who  was 
both  sagacious  and  amiable — reiterated  their  assurances 
that  she  could  not  confer  a  greater  boon  upon  them 
than  by  remaining  where  she  was,  and  with  them  she 
had  staged  until  Mr.  Aylett  sent  over  the  Kidgeley  car 
riage,  one  day  in  the  third  week  in  February,  with  a 
note  from  Mabel,  begging  her  aunt  to  present  herself, 
without  needless  delay,  at  the  homestead,  since  she  was 
not  reckoned  sufficiently  strong  to  attempt  the  uneven 
and  muddy  roads  that  still  separated  them.  Mrs.  Aylett 
also  dispatched  a  billet  by  the  coachman,  the  graceful 
burden  of  which  was  the  same  as  that  of  Mabel's  peti 
tion,  and  the  two  long-sundered  friends  were  speedily 
together;  fellow-partakers  of  a  bount'ful  and  pains 
taking  hospitality,  which  kept  them  continually  in  mind 
that  they  were  guests,  and  not  at  home. 

The  dialogue  relative  to  Rosa  Tazewell's  matrimonial 
project  took  place  01  the  third  day  of  Mrs.  Sutton'i 
visit,  in  Mabel's  chamber,  and  when  the  former,  having 


AUNTBAOHEL  WAXSS  UNCHARITA3UL 


talked  off  the  topmost  bubbles  of  her  righteous  wrath, 
:«ecollected  several  very  important  letters  —  business 
and  friendly  —  she  ought  to  have  written  a  week  ago, 
and  trotted  off  to  her  room  where  she  could  perform 
the  neglected  duty  without  visible  and  outward  tempta 
tion  to  that  she  was  more  fond  of  doing  —  to  wit,  talk 
ing  —  the  young  wife  continued  to  work  steadily,  and 
with  apparent  composure.  It  was  not  a  bright  face  on 
which  the  light  from  the  western  windows  fell,  yet  it 
was  not  unhappy.  She  had  never  pretended  to  herself 
that  her  marriage  was  a  step  toward  happiness,  bat  she 
had  believed  that  it  would  secure  to  her  a  larger  share- 
of  peace,  immunity  from  disturbance,  and  indepen 
dence  of  thought  and  action,  than  fell  to  her  lot  in 
her  brother's  house,  and  for  these  negative  benefits  she 
longed  wearily. 

Mr.  Aylett  was  not  wantonly  or  openly  unkind  to  hia 
ward,  and  ungenerous  persecution  was  utterly  incom 
patible  with  the  temper  and  habits  of  his  lady  wife, 
bat  between  them  they  had  contrived  to  make  the  girl's 
life  very  miserable.  It  was  Winston's  cue  —  adopted, 
let  us  hope,  from  the  strict  sense  of  duty  he  avowed 
had  ever  actuated  him  in  his  treatment  of  the  charge 
bequeathed  him  by  his  father  —  to  deport  himself  with 
calm,  seldom-relaxed  severity  to  one  who  had  showed 
herself  to  be  entirely  unworthy  of  confidence  ;  to  ex 
ercise  unremitting  surveillance  upon  her  personal  aa> 
•ociation  with  young  people  o*ut  of  the  family  and  bet 


AUNT  RACHEL  WAXES  U1TOHARITABHS. 

correspondence,  and  to  curb  by  look  and  oral  reprooi 
the  most  distant  approach  to  what  he  condemned  as  in 
discreet  levity.  In  a  thousand  ways  —  many  of  them 
ingenious,  and  all  severe,  she  was  made  to  feel  the  cur 
tailment  of  her  liberty,  and  given  to  understand  that  it 
was  the  just  retribution  of  her  unlucky  love-affair  with 
an  unprincipled  adventurer.  Mrs.  Aylett  professed  to 
discountenance  this  policy — to  be  Mabel's  secret  friend 
and  ally,  while  she  deemed  it  unwise  to  combat  her 
husband's  will  by  overt  measures  for  his  sister's  protec 
tion. 

Thus,  for  a  year,  the  object  of  his  real  displeasure 
and  her  affected  commiseration  lived  under  a  cloud, 
too  proud  to  complain  of  her  thraldom,  but  feeling  it 
every  second ;  mourning,  in  the  seclusion  of  the  trebly 
barred  chambers  of  her  heart,  over  her  shattered  idol 
and  squandered  affections,  and  fancying,  in  the  morbid 
distrust  engendered  by  the  discovery  of  her  lover's  basts- 
ness,  and  the  weight  of  her  brother's  unsparing  repn  - 
bation  of  her  insane  imprudence,  that  she  descried  ia 
every  face,  save  Aunt  Rachel's,  contempt  or  rebuke  for 
the  faux  pas  that  had  so  nearly  cast  a  stigma  upon  her 
dame  and  lineage. 

In  Herbert  Dorrance's  honest  admiration  and  assid- 
*^oufl  courtship  the  most  suspicious  scrutiny  could  de 
tect  BD  tincture  of  either  of  these  feelings,  and  it  waa 
not  long  before  she  took  refuge  in  his  society  from  the 
risk  of  being  wounded  and  angered  by  the  supposed 


234      AUNT  BAOHBL  W 1XE8  UNCHA3ITABLJBL 

exhibition  of  them  in  others.  Here  was  one  man  who 
could  not  but  know  of  her  folly,  in  all  its  length,  breadth, 
and  depth,  who  was  a  witness  of  her  daily  chastisement 
for  it  at  her  guardian's  hands,  yet  who  esteemed  her 
onsullied  by  the  unworthy  attachment,  undegraded  by 
pmrishment.  Gratitude  had  a  powerful  auxiliary  in  her 
feverish  longing  to  escape  from  scenes  that  kept  alive 
to  the  quick,  memories  she  would  have  annihilated,  had 
her  ability  been  commensurate  with  her  wilL  All  other 
associations  with  the  house  in  which  she,  and  her  father 
before  her,  had  been  born,  and  in  which  she  had  passed 
her  childhood  and  girlish  days,  were  overrun  by  the 
thickly  thronging  and  pertinacious  recollections  of  the 
two  short  weeks  Frederic  Chilton  had  spent  there  with 
her.  He  haunted  her  walks  and  drives  ;  trod,  by  her 
side,  the  resounding  floor  of  the  vine-covered  portico , 
sat  with  her  in  parlor  and  halls ;  sang  to  her  accompani 
ment  when  she  would  have  exorcised  the  phantom  by 
music — was  always,  whenever  and  wherever  he  appeared 
-—the  tender,  ingenuous,  manly  youth  she  had  loved 
and  reverenced  as  the  impersonation  of  her  ideal  lord; 
the  demi-god  whom  she  had  worshipped,  Aeart  and  soul 
—  set,  in  her  exulting  imagination  no  lower  than  <he 
ingels*  and  beheld  in  the  end,  —  with  besmirched  brow 
and  debased  mien,  a  disgraced  sensualist,  not  merely  a 
deceiver  of  another  woman's  innocent  confidence,  and 
ler  tempter  to  dishonor  and  wretchedness,  but  *  pol 


AUNT  RACHEL  WAXES  UNCHABITABLB.       235 

troon  —  a  whipped  coward  who  had  not  dared  to  lift 
voice  or  pen  in  denial  or  extenuation  of  his  crime. 

The  law  of  reaction  is  of  more  nearly  universal  *p 
plication  in  moral  and  in  physical  science  than  men  an 
willing  to  believe.  We  have  seen  how  cunningly  BOM 
calculated  upon  it,  and  wiser  people  than  she,  every 
day,  attribute  the  most  momentous  actions  cf  their  ivoi 
to  its  influence. 

"  My  advice  to  every  woman  is  to  marry  for  good 
ness  —  simple  integrity  of  word  and  deed  ! "  said  a 
rady,  once  in  my  hearing. 

She  was  an  excellent  scholar,  attractive  in  person 
and  in  manner,  gifted  in  conversation  and  opulent  in 
purse.  Her  hand  had  been  sought  in  marriage  by  more 
than  one,  and  in  early  womanhood  she  had  made  choice 
among  her  suitors  of  a  man  whose  plausible  exterior 
was  the  screen  of  a  black  heart  and  infamous  life.  Con 
vinced  of  her  mistake  barely  in  time  to  escape  copart 
nership  in  his  stained  name  and  ruined  fortunes,  she 
set  up  the  history  of  her  deadly  peril  as  a  beacon  to 
others  as  ardent  and  unwary  as  her  old-time  self.  Either 
to  put  a  double  point  upon  the  moral,  or  to  insure  her 
self  against  similar  mishap  in  the  future,  she  wedded 
an  amiable  and  correct  fool,  a  mere  incidental  in  the 
work  of  human  creation,  who  was  as  incapable  of  mak 
ing  his  mark  upon  the  age  that  produced  him  as  an 
angle-worm  is  of  lettering  solid  granite 

Mabel's    husband  was  not  a  simpleton,  or  charao 


236      AUNT  BAOHSL  WAXES  JNVHAIUYABLB. 

terlesa ;  bnt  if  he  had  been,  his  prospects  of  suoceeg 
would  not  have  been  materially  damaged  by  her  knowl 
edge  of  his  deficiencies.  A  union  with  him  was  a  eafe 
investment,  and  mnst  be  several  degrees  more  support 
able  than  was  her  position  at  Ridgeley,  banned  by  its 
owner  and  patronized  by  his  wife.  I  neither  excuse  nor 
blame  her  for  thns  deciding  and  transacting.  Should 
I  censure,  a  majority  of  my  readers  —  nearly  all  of 
the  masculine  portion  —  would  pick  holes  in  my  un 
practical  philosophy,  scout  my  reasoning  as  illogical 
brand  my  conclusions  as  pernicious  —  winding  up  their 
protest  with  the  sigh  of  the  mazed  disciples,  when 
stunned  by  the  great  Teacher's  deliverance  upon  the 
Bubject  of  divorce,  "  If  the  case  of  the  man  be  so 
vrith  his  wife,  it  is  not  good  to  marry ! " 

Which  dogma  I  likewise  decline  to  dispute  —  falling 
back  thankfully  upon  the  blessed  stronghold  of  unam 
bitious  story-tellers  —  namely,  that  my  vocation  is  to 
describe  what  is  —  not  make  fancy-sketches  of  millen 
nial  days,  when  rectitude  shall  be  the  best,  because 
most  remunerative  policy ;  when  sincerity  shall  bewis 
£om  —  proven  and  indisputable,  and  consistency  the 
rule  of  human  faith  and  practice  the  world  over,  in 
stead  of  being,  aa  it  now  i*,  one  of  the  lost  (or  new 
UQ  vented)  fine  arte. 


CHAPTER  XXXL 

JTXJU8  LENNOX. 

|OU  are  puttin'  your  eyes  out,  workin'  so  stiddy, 
honey,  and  it's  gettin*  dark." 

Mabel  aroused  herself  from  her  Intent  atti 
tude,  and  looked  at  the  window.  There  was  a 
brassy  glimmer  in  the  cloudy  west;  the  rest  of  the 
tky  was  covered  by  thick  vapors. 

"  The  days  are  still  very  short,"  she  said,  folding  her 
work,  and  becoming  aware  that  her  eyes  ached  from 
3ong  and  close  study  of  the  intricate  pattern. 

It  was  Mammy  Phillis  who  had  interrupted  her  rev 
erie,  and  she  now  laid  an  armful  of  seasoned  hickory 
wood  upon  the  hearth,  and  set  herself  about  mending 
the  fire,  taking  up  the  ashes  which  had  accumulated 
rinoe  morning,  putting  the  charred  sticks  together, 
and  collecting  the  embers  into  a  compact  bed. 

"We're  goin'  to  have  fallin*  weather  'fore  long," 
ghe  observed,  oracularly.  "The  wind  has  changed 
•ence  dinner,  and  when  the  wind  whirls  about  on  a 
fudden,  we  upon  this  ridge  is  the  fust  to  find  it  out 

(Btt) 


238  JULlOcf  LENNOX. 

I  most  see  that  them  lazy  chil'len,  Lem  and  lazy,  filli 
your  wood-box  to-night  with  dry  wood ;  I'd  be  loth  to 
have  yon  ketch  cold  while  yon  are  here." 

"  Yon  are  very  good,  Mammy,  bnt  why  do  yea 
tronble  yourself  to  attend  to  my  fire?  Yon  should 
have  sent  np  Lem  with  that  great  load  of  logs." 

"  I  ain't  easy  withont  I  see  to  you  myself,  at  least 
once  a  day.  It  'minds  me  of  the  good  ole  times  to 
wait  upon  yon.  O,  Lord  I  how  long  ?  "  shaking  her 
tartan  turban  with  a  portentous  groan,  her  chin  almost 
scraping  the  hearth,  as  she  stooped  to  blow  into  the 
crater  of  fiery  coals. 

Mabel  was  too  well  versed  in  the  customs  of  th« 
race  and  class  to  take  alarm  at  the  mysterious  invoca 
tion.  She  watched  the  old  woman's  movements  in  a 
sort  of  pensive  amusement  at  the  recollection  of  an 
incident  of  her  childhood,  brought  vividly  to  her  mind 
by  the  servant's  air  and  exclamation. 

She  was  playing  in  the  yard  one  day,  when  "Mammy' 
emerged  from  her  cottage-door,  and  came  toward  her, 
with  a  batcr  of  sweet  cakes  she  had  just  baked  for  her 
nursling. 

In  crossing  the  gravel  walk  leading  to  the  tf  house," 
she  struck  her  toe  against  the  brick  facing  of  this,  and 
the  cakes  flew  in  all  directions. 

"Good  Lord!  my  poor  toe  and  my  poor  chile'i 
cakes!"  wai  her  vehenrent  interjection ;  and  as  sne 
Dent  to  $c%ther  np  the  cookies,  she  grunted  cut  th* 


JULIUS  LBXWOJL 

•ame  adjuration,  coupled  with  "  my  pocr  ole  back  I n 
—  a  negress'  stock  subject  of  complaint,  let  her  be  fcnt 
twenty  years  old  and  as  strong  as  an  ox. 

"  Mammy  1 "  said  the  privileged  child,  reprovingly, 
**  I  thought  you  were  too  good  a  Cktistian  to  break  the 
oommandments  in  that  way.  You  shouldn't  take  the 
Lord's  name  in  vain." 

"  Gracious  I  Sugar-pie  I  how  you  talk  I  Ef  I  don't 
call  'pon  Him  in  time  of  trouble,  who  can  I  ask  to 
help  me  ?  "  was  the  confident  reply. 

With  no  thought  of  any  more  formidable  cause  of 
outcry  than  a  cramp  in  the  much-quoted  spine,  Mabel 
dreamed  on  sketchily  and  indolently,  enjoying  the  sight 
of  the  once-familiar  process  of  building  a  wood-fire, 
until  the  yellow  serpents  of  flame  crept,  red-tongued 
through  the  interstices  of  the  lower  logs,  and  the  larger 
and  upper  began  to  sing  the  low,  drowsy  tune,  more 
suggestive  of  home-cheer  and  fireside  comfort  than  th« 
shrill,  monotonous  chirp  of  the  famots  cricket  on  thi» 
hearth.  The  pipe-clayed  bricks  on  which  the  andirons 
rested  were  next  swept  clean ;  the  hearth-brush  hung 
np  or.  its  nail,  and  the  architect  of  the  edifice  stepped 
back  with  a  satisfied  nod. 

"  1  have  often  wished  for  a  glimpse  of  one  of  your 
beautiful  fires,  Mammy,  since  I  have  been  in  Albany," 
iaid  Mabel,  kindly.  "Our  rooms  and  halls  are  aU 
heated  \y  furnaces.  An  open  fireplace  would  be  a 
novelty  to  Northerner*,  and  such  a  roaring,  blazing 


JULIUS 


pile  of  hard  wood  as  that,  be  considered  an  unpardon* 
ble  extravagance." 

"Humph!  I  never  did  have  no  'pinion  of  them 
people."  Phillifl  tossed  her  turban  and  cocked  her 
prominent  chin.  "It's  all  make  money,  and  save] 
save  |  If  I  was  'lowed  to  go  with  yon,  I'll  be  bound 
I'd  see  you  have  sech  things  as  you've  been  'customed 
to.  The  new  folks,  them  what  corned  from  nothin' 
%nd  nowhar,  and  made  every  dollar  they  can  call  their 
>wn  with  their  own  hands,  don't  know  how  to  feel  for 
and  look  after  real  ladies." 

"  You  are  wrong  about  that,  if  you  mean  that  I  have 
not  every  comfort  I  could  ask.  My  house  is  warm  in 
the  bitterest  weather,  and  far  more  handsomely  fur 
nished  than  this.  And  I  have  many  kind  friends.  I 
like  the  Northern  people,  and  so  would  you,  if  you 
knew  them  well." 

"  They  send  dreadful  poor  samples  down  this  way, 
then,"  muttered  Phillis,  significantly.  "  And,  some  as 
perterds  to  be  somebody  is  nobody,  or  wuss,  ef  the 
truth  was  known.  Don't  talk  to  me  'bout  'em,  Miss 
Mabel,  darling!  'Twas  a  mighty  black  day  for  us 
when  one  on  'em  fust  laid  eyes  upon  Mars'  Wicston. 
You've  hearn,  ain't  you,  that  my  house  is  to  be  tore 
down,  and  I'm  to  go  into  the  quarters  'long  with  Ihe 
field  hands  and  sich  like  common  trash  ?  So  long  aa 
our  skins  is  all  the  same  color,  some  folks  can't  see  no 
difference  in  TUL" 


JULTUB 

'  I  had  not  heard  it    I  am  sorry.' 

Mabel  spoke  earnestly,  for  "  Mammy's  house,"  a  neat 
cottage  a  story-and-a-half  high,  embowered  in 
tcxmst-trees,  and  with  a  thrifty,  although  aged  garden  — 
honeysuckle  clambering  all  over  the  front,  was  to  her 
one  of  the  dearest  pictures  of  her  early  days.  She 
<5ould  see  herself ,  now  —  the  motherless  babe  whom 
Aunt  Rachel  and  Mammy  had  never  let  feel  her 
orphanage  —  sitting  on  the  door-step,  bedecking  her 
loll  with  the  odorous  pink-and-white  blossoms  in  sum- 
aaer  time,  and  in  autumn  with  the  light-red  berries. 

"Why  is  that  done! "  she  asked. 

"I  spiles  the  prospect,  honey!"  fiercely — ironical 
"  Northern  folks  has  tender  eyes,  and  I  hurts  'em — me 
and  my  poor  little  house  what  ole  marster  built  for  me 
when  Mars'  Winston  was  a  *>aby,  and  your  blessed  ma 
couldn't  be  easy  'thout  I  was  near  her  —  we  spiles  the 
prospect !  So,  it  must  be  knocked  down  and  carted 
away  for  rubbish  to  build  pig-pens,  I  'spose,  and  me 
sent  off  to  live  'mong  low-lived  niggers,  seen  as  I've 
always  held  myself  above.  She  ain't  never  put  it  into 
Mars'  Winston's  head  to  cut  down  the  trees  that  sheta 
off  the  "prospect"  of  the  colored  people's  burying- 
ground  from  her  winder.  There's  some  things  she'd 
as  lief  not  see.  I  oughtn't  to  mind  this  so  much,  I 
know,  for  I  ain't  got  long  for  to  stay  here  nohow,  but 
I  did  hope  to  die  in  my  nest ! "  sobbing  tahind  her 
apron. 


242  JULTUB  LSHTSTOS. 

"I  am  very  sorry  —  more  grieved  than  you  COB 
think  !  "  repeated  MabeL  "  If  I  could  help  you  in  any 
aray,  I  would  But  I  cannot  1  " 

"Bless  your  heart!  Don't  I  know  that,  dear! 
Here,  you  ain't  got  no  more  power  nor  me.  But  J 
was  a-thinkin'  that  maybe  you  wouldn't  think  me  toe 
old  for  a  miss  when  you  come  to  want  one,  and  cculd 
manage  to  take  me  with  you  when  you  went  home 
Fse  a  heap  of  wear  in  me  yit,  and  there  ain't  nothing 
Txrat  babies  I  don't  understand." 

Mabel  colored  painfully. 

"  If  I  had  my  way  "  —  she  began  —  then  altered  hco 
plan  of  reply.  "  I  could  not  enter  into  such  an  ar 
rangement  without  consulting  Mr.  Dorrance,  Mammy 
and  I  am  afraid  he  would  not  think  as  favorably  of  r 
as  you  and  I  do.  He  has  been  brought  up  with  differ 
ent  ideas,  you  see." 


An  interjection  capable  of  as  many  and  as  varied 
meanings  in  the  mouth  of  a  colored  woman  of  he? 
stamp  as  was  little  Jean  Baptiste's  et  altro  I  "  It  sig 
nified  now  —  "I  comprehend  a  great  deal  more  than 
you  want  ine  to  perceive  —  you  poor,  downtrodden 
angel!" 

"  ITm-Awm.  I  always  did  say  he  was  his  rister'a 
own  brother  --for  all  they  don't  look  a  bit  alike 
What's  born  into  a  man  never  comes  out  !  " 

"  Mr.  Dorranoe  i*  my  husband,  Mammy  !    I  thai] 


JULIUS  LENNOX  243 

not  let  you  speak  disrespectfully  of  birr..  He  doea 
what  he  believes  to  be  right  and  jnst,"  returned  Mabel 
•ternly. 

u  I  ain't  a-goin'  to  arger  that  with  yon,  my  sugar 
plum  1  Yon're  right  to  stand  up  for  him.  I  beg  your 
pardon  ef  I've  seemed  sassy  or  hurt  your  feelin'a. 
And  I  dar*  say,  there  mayn't  be  nothin'  wuss  'bout  him 
nor  his  outside.  And  that  don't  matter  so  much,  ef 
people's  insides  is  clean  and  straight  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord.  But  her  outside  is  all  that's  decent  about 
her,  ef  you'll  listen  to  me " 

u  You  are  forgetting  yourself  again ! "  said  Mabel, 
unable  to  suppress  a  smile.  "  Mrs.  Aylett  is  your  mis 
tress " 

The  woman's  queer  behavior  arrested  the  remon 
strance.  Stepping  on  tiptoe  to  the  door  she  locked  it, 
and  approached  her  young  mistress  with  an  ostentatious 
attempt  at  treading  lightly,  shaking  her  head  and 
pursing  up  her  mouth  in  token  of  secrecy,  while  she 
fumbled  in  her  bosom  for  something  that  seemed  hard 
to  get  at.  Drawing  it  forth  at  last  she  laid  it  in  Ma 
bel's  lap  —  a  small  leather  wallet,  glossy  with  use,  tat 
tered  at  the  corners,  and  tied  up  with  a  bit  of  dirty 
twine. 

"  What  is  this,  and  what  am  I  to  do  with  it?" 

Mabel  shrank  from  touching  it,  so  foul  and  general! j 
disreputable  was  its  appearance. 


844  JUUVa  LSNNGX. 


"  Keep  both  your  ears  open,  dearie,  aad  Fll  tell  701 
aUIknow!" 

And  with  infinite  prolixity  and  numerous  digression! 
the  recounted  how,  in  removing  tke  sodden  clothing 
*>f  the  unknown  man  who  had  been  picked  up  on  the 
lawn  on  that  memorable  stormy  Chistmas  night,  more 
than  a  year  before,  this  had  slipped  from  an  inner 
breast-pocket  of  the  coat,  "  right  into  her  hand."  Not 
caring  to  disturb  the  doctor's  examination  of  his  pa 
tent,  or  to  tempt  the  cupidity  of  her  fellow-servants 
l>y  starting  the  notion  that  there  might  be  other  valua 
bles  hidden  in  the  articles  they  handled  so  carelessly, 
she  had  pocketed  it,  unobserved  by  them,  guessing  that 
tt  would  be  of  service  at  the  inquest.  Her  purpose 
of  producing  it  then  was,  according  to  her  showing, 
teversed  by  Mrs.  Aylett's  stolen  visit  to  the  chamber 
*nd  minute  inspection  of  garments  she  would  not  have 
touched  unless  urged  to  the  disagreeable  task  "by  some 
mighty  consideration  of  duty,  self-interest,  or  fear. 

"'Then,'  thinks  I"  —  Phillis  stated  the  various 
steps  of  her  reasoning  —  "'you  wouldn't  take  the 
trouble  to  pull  over  them  nasty,  muddy  close,  'thout 
you  expected  to  get  some  good  out  on  'em,  or  was  afeard 
of  somethin'  or  'nother  fallin'  into  somebody  else's 
hands.'  Whichsomever  this  mought  be,  'twasn't  iny 
business  to  be  gittin'  up  a  row  and  a  to-do  before  the 
crowner  and  all  them  gentlemen.  '  Least  said  soonest 
mended,'  says  I  to  myself,  and  keep*  mnm  about  the 


JULIUS  LSNNCX.  241 

wliole  thing  —  what  I'd  got,  and  what  I'd  seen  Bui 
when  I  come  to  think  it  all  over  arterward,  I  wai 
skeered  for  true  at  what  I'd  done,  and  for  fear  Han9 
Winston  wouldn't  like  it  What  reason  could  I  give 
him  for  hidin'  of  the  pocketbook,  ef  1  give  it  np  to 
him  ?  Ef  I  tole  all  the  truth,  shdd  be  mad  as  a  March 
hare,  and  like  as  not  face  me  down  that  all  I  had  said 
was  a  dream  or  a  lie,  or  that  I  was  drunk  that  night 
and  couldn't  see  straight.  I'd  hearn  her  tell  too  many 
fibs  with  a  smooth  tongue  and  a  sweet  smile  not  to  be 
sure  of  that !  So,  all  I  should  git  for  my  care  of  the 
repertation  of  my  f  am'ly  would  be  her  ill-will,  and  to 
be  'cused  by  other  people  of  stealin',  and  for  the 
rest  of  my  days  she'd  do  all  she  could  to  spite  me. 
For  I'm  sure  as  I  stand  here,  Miss  Mabel,  that  she 
knew,  or  thought  she  knew,  somethin'  'bout  that  poor, 
despisable  wretch  that  died  up  in  the  garret.  What 
else  brought  him  a-spyin'  'round  here,  and  what  was 
there  to  make  her  faint  when  she  ketehed  sight  of  him 
a-lookin'  in  at  her  through  the  winder)  and  what 
could  a  sent  her  upstars  when  everybody  else  wag 
asleep,  fur  to  haul  his  close  about,  and  poke  them  fine 
white  fingers  of  hern  into  his  pockets,  and  pull  hia 
whiskery  face  over  to  the  light  BO'S  to  see  it  better! 
Depend  'pon  it,  there's  a  bad  story  at  the  bottom  of  tMj 
somewhere.  I've  hearn  of  many  a  sich  that  came  of 
gentlemens'  marrying  f  orringers  what  nobody  knowed 
anything  about  Anyhow,  I  want  you  to  take  keer  of 


JULIUB  LXfflTQJL 

this  'ere  pocketbook.  Ef  I  was  to  die  all  of  a  suddent 
and  'twas  found  'mong  my  things,  some  mischief 
mought  be  hatched  ont  on  it  It's  safer  in  your  hands 
nor  it  is  in  mine.  Now,  I'll  jest  light  your  lamp,  and 
yon  can  'xamine  it,  and  pitch  it  into  the  fire,  ef  you 
like,  when  you're  through." 

In  a  cooler  moment  Mabel  would  have  hesitated  tc 
obey  the  advice  of  an  ignorant,  prejudiced  person,  her 
inferior  in  station  and  intelligence.  But  in  the  whirl 
df  astonishment,  incredulity,  ana  speculation  created 
by  the  tale  she  had  heard,  she  untied  the  string  which 
formed  the  primitive  fastening  of  the  worn  wallet,  and 
unclosed  it 

The  main  compartment  contained  four  tickets,  issued 
by  as  many  different  pawnbrokers,  testifying  that  such 
and  such  articles  had  been  deposited  with  them  for 
and  in  consideration  of  moneys  advanced  by  them  to 
Thomas  Lindsay;  a  liquor-seller's  seme  against  Wil 
liam  Jones  —  unpaid;  and  a  taverf;  bill,  in  which 
brandy  and  water,  whiskey  and  mint^ftleps,  were  the 
principal  items  charged  against  Edmund  Jackson. 
This  last  was  the  only  paper  which  bore  the  indorse 
ment  "  Kec'd  payment,"  and  this  circumstance  had, 
probably,  led  to  its  preservation.  The  adjoining  di 
vision  of  the  wallet  was  sewed  up  with  stout  black 
thread  and  Mabel  had  to  resort  to  her  scissors  before 
she  could  get  at  its  contents.  These  were  a  couple  of 
worn  envelopes,  crumpled  and  dog-eared,  and  atair  ed 


JULIUS  zjEzrarox  247 


with  liquor  or  salt  water,  but  still  bearing  the  address, 
in  a  feminine  hand,  of  "Lieutenant  Julius  Lennox, 
0".  S.  N."  In  addition  to  this,  one  was  directed  to 
Havana,  Cuba  ;  the  other  to  Calcutta,  in  care  of  a 
mercantile  or  banking  -house  at  each  place.  A  third 
cover  bore  the  superscription,  "  CBETIFIOATE,"  in  bold 
characters. 

The  negress'  watchful  eyes  dilated  with  greedy  ex 
pectancy  at  Mrs.  Dorrance's  ghastly  face  when  this 
last  had  been  examind,  but  she  was  foiled  if  she  hoped 
for  any  valuable  addition  to  her  store  of  information, 
or  anything  resembling  elucidation  of  her  pet  mystery. 

"  It  will  take  me  some  time  to  read  all  these,"  re 
marked  Mabel,  still  scanning  the  half  -sheet  she  held 
"  You  had  better  not  wait,  Mammy.  They  are  safe  with 
me.  No  one  else  shall  see  them,  and  no  harm  can 
come  to  you  through  them." 

She  promised  mechanically  what  she  supposed  would 
soonest  buy  for  her  privacy  and  needed  quiet,  and  gave 
no  heed  to  the  manifest  disappointment  of  her  visitor. 

When  she  was  at  last  alone,  Mrs.  Dorrance  relocked 
!he  door,  and  bent  close  to  the  lamp,  as  if  more  light 
upon  the  surface  of  the  document  would  tend  to  clear 
ap  the  terrible  secret  thus  strangely  committed  to  her 
discretion  and  mercy.  The  paper  was  a  certificate, 
drawn  up  in  regular  form,  and  signed  by  a  clergyman, 
whose  address  was  appended  below,  in  a  different  hand 


248  JULIUS  LENNOX. 

writing  — of  a  marriage  between  Julius  Lennox  and 
Clara  Louise  Dorrance. 

"  Her  very  name ! "  repeated  the  whitening  lips.  a  1 
remember  asking  her  once  what  die  ( L '  in  her  signa 
ture  stood  for." 

But  while  she  said  it,  there  was  a  look  in  the  read 
er*s  eye  that  bespoke  inability  or  reluctance  to  grappk 
with  the  revelation  threatened  by  the  discovery. 

"  The  letters  may  tell  me  more  I "  she  added,  in  the 
same  frightened  whisper,  refolding  the  certificate. 

They  did  —  for  they  were  in  the  long,  sloping  chi 
rography  of  her  sister-in-law,  and  signed  "  Your  ever- 
fond,  but  lonely  wife."  Each  contained,  moreover,  al 
lusions  to  "Ellis,"  to  "  Clermont,"  to  "Julia,"  and  to 
"  Herbert "  —  all  family  names  in  the  Dorrance  con 
nection  ;  spoke  gratefully  of  her  parents'  kindness  tc 
his  "  poor  Louise  "  in  the  absence  of  "  her  beloved  Ju 
lius;"  and  was  liberally  spiced  with  passionate  pro 
testations  of  her  inconsolableness  and  yearnings  for  hia 
return.  Both  were  dated  ten  years  back,  and  the 
paper  was  yellow  with  time,  besides  being  creased  and 
thumbed  as  by  many  readings. 

"What  am  I  to  do! >  thought  Mabel,  sinking  into 
her  chair,  trembling  all  over  with  terror  and  incerti 
tude. 

If  there  were  one  sentiment  in  Winston  Ayletfi 
heart  that  equalled  his  haughtiness,  it  was  love  for  hi* 
wife.  But  could  it  be  that  he  had  totally  forgottev 


JTUTJUS  LXNNQX  S49 

pride  and  his  habitual  caution  in  the  selection  of  the 
woman  who  was  to  be  the  partner  of  his  home,  fortune, 
and  reputation  —  possibly  the  mother  of  children  who 
were  to  perpetaate  the  noble  name  he  bore  ?  By  what 
miracle  of  unrighteous  craft,  what  subornation  of  wit 
nesses,  what  concealments,  what  barefaced  and  unscru 
pulous  falsehoods  had  this  adventuress  been  imposed 
upon  him  as  unmarried,  when  the  evidence  of  her  for 
mer  wedlock  was  held  by  a  low  stroller  —  a  drunken 
wretch  who  might  betray  it  in  an  unguarded  or  insane 
hour,  and  who,  judging  from  his  exterior,  would  not  be 
averse  to  publishing  or  selling  the  information  if  he 
could  make  more  money  by  doing  this  than  by  pre 
serving  the  secret  And  how  came  he  by  these  papers  I 
Confused,  partly  by  his  numerous  aliases,  more  by 
incapacity  to  conceive  of  such  depth  and  complication 
of  horror  as  were  revealed  by  the  idea,  the  perplexed 
thinker  did  not,  for  a  while,  admit  to  herself  the  possi 
bility  that  the  nameless  vagabond  may  have  been  Clara** 
living  husband,  instead  of  a  mercenary  villain  who  had 
secured  surreptitiously  the  proofs  of  a  marriage  she 
wished  the  world  to  forget.  Having  learned  that  she 
had  wedded,  a  second  time,  in  her  maiden  name,  and 
that  her  antecedents  were  unsuspected  in  her  present 
home,  the  thought  of  extorting  a  bribe  to  continued  si 
lence,  from  the  wealthy  lady  of  Kidgeley,  would  have 
occurred  to  any  common  rascal  with  more  audacity 
than  princr'ple.  It  was  but  a  spu-k  —  the  merest  poinl 


950  JULIUS  LSNNOJL 

of  light  that  showed  her  the  verge  of  the  precipice  tow 
ard  which  one  link  after  another  of  the  chain  of  cir 
cumstantial  evidence  was  dragging  her. 

Groping  dizzily  among  her  recollection*  of  that 
Christmas  night,  there  gleamed  luridly  upon  her  the 
vision  of  Mrs.  Aylett's  strange  smile,  as  she  said, "  It 
may  be  that  his  wife,  if  she  were  cognizant  of  his  con 
dition,  would  not  lift  a  finger  or  take  a  step  to  save  hi» 
life,  or  to  prolong  it  for  an  hour  I " 

Then,  in  response  to  Mabel's  indignant  reply  —  the 
momentary  passion  darting  from  her  hitherto  languor 
ous  orbs,  and  vibrating  in  her  accents,  in  adding  — 
4  There  are  women  in  whose  hearts  the  monument  to 
departed  affection  is  a  hatred  that  can  never  die." 

If  this  man  were  a  stranger,  from  whom  she  had 
nothing  to  fear,  why  her  extraordinary  agitation  at  see- 
Ing  him,  even  imperfectly,  through  the  window  ?  She 
must  have  known  him  well  to  recognize  him  in  the 
darkness  and  at  that  fleeting  glimpse.  Perhaps  she 
had  believed  him  dead,  until  then  1  This  would  ac 
count  for  her  clandestine  visit  to  his  chamber,  to  which 
Mrs.  Sutton  and  her  niece  had  gone,  without  effort  at 
concealment ;  explain  the  iigid  examination  of  his 
clothing  ensuing  upon  her  scrutiny  of  his  features. 

u  I  must  be  mad ! "  Mabel  said,  here,  pressing  her 
hand  to  her  head.  "  There  does  net  live  the  woman, 
however  wicked  and  hypocritical,  who  could  sit  at 
ease  ID  the  midflt  of  ill-gotten  luxury,  on  an  inclement 


JULIUS  LSNNOJL  251 

uight,  and  talk  smilingly  of  other  things,  if  she  suspect* 
ed  that  one  she  had  known,  much  less  loved,  lay 
dying  in  wretchedness  and  solitude  so  near  her." 

The  vagrant  was  some  evil-disposed  spy,  whose  per 
son  Clara  knew,  and  whose  intentions  she  had  reason  to 
dread  were  unfriendly.  Had  she  dared  —  for  she  wai 
daring —  to  attempt  this  nefarious  plot  against  the  fair 
fame  and  happiness  of  an  honorable  gentleman,  her 
family  would  not  have  become  her  accomplices.  They 
could  not  have  blinded  themselves  to  the  perils  of  the 
enterprise,  the  extreme  probabilities  of  detection,  the 
consequences  of  Winston's  anger.  Herbert,  at  least, 
vrould  have  forbidden  the  unlawful  deceit.  When  his 
jister  was  wedded  to  Winston,  he  believed  that  her  first 
husband  was  no  longer  in  the  land  of  the  living  —  as 
ihe  must  also  have  done, 

"  For  he  is  a  good  —  an  upright  man  I  "  thought  the 
*if e.  "  But  he  was  privy  to  the  fact  of  her  previous 
caarriage!  Why  have  I  never  heard  of  it?  He  has 
invariably  spoken  of  Clara  as  having  lived  single  in  her 
mother's  house  up  to  the  date  of  her  union  with  my 
brother." 

She  could  not  but  remember,  likewise,  that  there  was 
a  certain  tone  about  the  Dorrance  connection  she  had 
never  quite  comprehended  or  liked  —  a  reticence  with 
respect  to  details  of  family  history,  while  they  were 
voluble  upon  generalities,  over-fond  of  lauding  one 
another's  exploits,  virtues,  and  accomplishments ;  refer- 


253  JULIUS  LXNNQX. 

ring  in  wonderful  pride  to  "our  beloved  fathta,"  and 
extolling  "  our  precious  mother,"  who,  by  the  way,  wai 
so  little  in  request  among  the  children,  that  she  had, 
since  Clara's  marriage,  occupied  apartments  in  a  second 
rate  boarding-house  in  Boston.  Mabel,  when  ocnvinced 
of  the  futility  of  her  hope  of  having  Aunt  Rachel  with 
her,  had  proposed  to  offer  Mrs.  Dorrance  a  house  in  the 
commodious  mansion  of  her  youngest  son ;  but  Heibert, 
with  no  show  of  gratification  at  what  he  must  have 
known  was  a  sacrifice  of  her  inclinations,  had  coolly 
reasoned  down  the  suggestion.  The  whole  tribe  —  if 
she  excepted  her  husband,  and  perhaps  Clara — had,  to 
her  perception,  a  tinge  of  Bohemianism,  although  all 
were  in  comfortable  circumstances,  and  lived  showily. 
Mabel  had  often  chided  herself  for  uncharitable  judg 
ment  and  groundless  prejudice,  in  admitting  these  im 
pressions  of  her  relatives-in-law ;  but  they  returned  up 
on  her  in  this  twilight  Teverie  with  the  force  of  convic 
tions  she  was,  each  moment,  less  able  to  combat.  What 
darker  secret  lay  back  of  the  concealment  her  rectitude 
of  principle  and  sense  of  justice  declared  to  be  unjust 
ifiable?  and  might  not  this  concerted  and  persistent 
reserve  imply  others  yet  more  culpable  ? 

It  showed  her  correct  estimate  of  her  brother's  char 
acter,  that  she  never  for  a  second  accused  him  of  con- 
nival:  ce  in  the  deceit  practised  upon  his  relations  and 
neighbors.  He  would  not  have  scrupled  to  wed  « 
widow,  knowing  and  acknowledging  her  to  be  such. 


JULIUS  zjurzrcx  §63 


Nothing  —  not  love,  tenfold  more  ardent  and  irrational 
than  that  he  felt  for  his  siren  wife  —  could  have  wrought 
upon  him  to  introduce  to  the  world,  as  Mrs.  Aylett  of 
Ridgeley,  one  who  had  been  hef  ore  married,  and  wai 
ashamed,  for  any  cause  whatever,  to  avow  this.  The 
blemish  left  by  the  acrid  breath  of  common  scandal 
upon  a  woman's  fame  was  to  him  ineffaceable  by  any 
process  yet  discovered  by  pitying  man  or  angels.  The 
maligned  one  may  not  have  erred  from  the  straitest 
road  of  virtue  and  discretion,  but  she  had  been  "  talked 
about,"  and  was  no  consort  for  him.  In  his  State  and 
caste,  private  marriages  were  things  disallowed,  and 
but  one  shade  more  respectable  than  liasons  that  did  not 
pretend  to  the  sanctity  of  wedlock.  "What  would  he 
say  when  the  contents  of  this  dingy  pocket-book  were 
spread  before  him  ?  Ought  his  sister  to  do  this  ? 

Could  she  ?  He  had  not  earned  compassionate  con 
sideration  from  her  by  any  act  of  gentleness  and  for 
bearauce.  He  had  handled  the  lopping-knif  e  without 
ruth,  and  let  the  gaping  wounds  bleed  as  long  as  the 
bitter  ichor  would  ooae  from  her  heart  She  had  learned 
hardness  and  self-control  from  the  lesson,  but  not  vin- 
dictiveness.  Now  that  the  power  was  hers  to  visit 
upon  his  haughty  spirit  something  of  the  humiliaticc 
and  iistresi  he  had  not  spared  her;  that  it  was  her 
turn  to  harangue  upon  mesaUiances  and  love-matches, 
and  want  of  circumspect  investigation  into  early  reo»rda 
Before  committing  one's  self  to  a  contract  of  marriage  — 


JTULIUB 

*he  recoiled  at  the  thought ;  felt,  in  her  exceeding  pity 
for  the  trustful  husbasd,  a  stirring  of  the  love  she  Lad 
he^^elf  once  borne  him  in  the  days  when  the  changed 
homestead  was  her  world,  and  its  master  a  king  among 
men. 

And  yet  —  and  yet  —  was  it  the  truest  friendship — 
the  most  prudent  course  to  prolong  the  ignorance  which 
left  him  liable  at  any  moment  to  be  shocked  into  the 
perpetration  of  some  desperate  deed  by  the  discovery, 
through  some  other  channel,  of  his  wife's  perfidy,  and 
&e  abominable  mare  that  had  been  woven  about  him! 


CHAPTER  JLtV. 


ABEL  was  still  turning  the  vexed  qnertion  d 
right  and  expediency  over  in  her  fast-heating 
brain,  the  next  evening,  as  she  sat  in  the  parlor, 
and  feigned  to  hearken  to  the  diligent  duett- 
practising  going  on  at  the  piano,  her  husband  and  Mrs 
Ajlett  being  the  performers. 

Mrs.  Sutton  had  gone  home  that  afternoon,  engaging 
to  return  for  a  longer  sojourn  in  the  course  of  a  month. 
Mr.  Aylett  read  his  newspaper  at  one  side  of  the  cen 
tre  table,  and  his  sister  employed  her  fingers  and  eyes 
at  the  other  with  a  trifle  of  fancy-work  —  an  anti 
macassar  she  was  crocheting  for  hei  hostess.  Her  in 
dustrious  or  fidgetty  habits  were  chronic  and  inveterate, 
and  people,  oi  remarking  upon  them,  did  not  Deflect 
that  this  species  of  restlessness  is  in  itself  a  disease, 
seldom  analyzed,  more  seldom  cured.  There  are  few 
students  or  physicians  of  human  nature,  in  this  world 
of  superficial  observers,  who  go  deep  ecough  into  the 
tpringi  of  man's  action  to  distinguish  the  extern** 

(959) 


256  "BO&ff  J3EAD." 

lymptoms  of  heart-cancer  from  ossification,  or  to  learn 
the  difference  between  satiety  and  atrophy.  A  night 
of  nervous  sleeplessness,  a  day  of  irresolution  and 
Iread,  had  aggravated  almost  beyond  her  control  tin 
restlessness  which  in  Mabel  was  the  unerring  indica 
tion  of  unhealthiness  of  mind  and  body.  To  sit  still 
was  impracticable;  to  talk  connectedly  and  easily 
would  soon  be  as  difficult.  She  was  glad  to  see  Aunt 
Rachel  go  —  immeasurably  relieved  when  a  musical 
evening  was  proposed  by  the  brother  and  sister,  second 
ing  the  motion  with  alacrity  that  called  forth  a  pleased 
smile  from  the  one,  and  a  look  of  surprised  inquisitive 
ness  from  the  other. 

"  You  have  grown  more  fond  of  instrumental  music/ 
aaid  Mrs.  Aylett,  half  interrogatively.  "  You  used  a) 
ways  to  prefer  vocaL" 

"  Try  me  and  see  what  an  appreciative  listener  I  am," 
rejoined  Mabel,  with  a  sickly  smile,  and  the  concert 
commenced. 

Overmuch  thought  upon  the  revelation  of  the  pre- 
eediBg  day  had  begotten  in  her,  fears  of  the  imminence 
of  the  danger  to  Winston's  peace  of  mind  —  a  persua 
iion  that  the  bird*  of  the  air  and  the  restless  air  itself 
might  bear  to  him  the  news  she  still  withheld.  Mammy 
had  averred, upon  her  cross-examination, that  "not  a 
living  soul  had  ever  seen  the  wallet "  sin  Be  it  fell  from 
the  dying  man's  pocket  —  an  affirmation  Mabel  could 


"3Q&N  JDJSAD"  957 

not  decide  whether  to  believe  or  discredit  If  she 
could  but  be  certain  that  the  secret  was  all  hers  t 

She  trembled  guiltily  when  her  brother  folded  hii 
last  paper,  and  sauntered  around  to  the  back  r.f  her 
chair,  leaning  npon  it,  while  he  affected  to  be  interested 
in  her  work,  and  the  too-ready  scarlet  blood  pulsed  now 
hotly  in  her  cheeks  with  each  moment  of  his  mute 
observation. 

"  I  heard  a  piece  of  news  to-day,"  he  said,  presently, 
in  his  most  even  tone ;  bnt  Mabel's  start  npon  her  seat 
was  almost  a  leap,  while  her  fingers  moved  faster  and 
more  irregularly. 

"  I  suspect,  from  your  unsettled  demeanor  this  even 
ing,  that  it  reached  you  before  it  did  me,"  continued 
he.  "  I  can  attribute  your  badly  suppressed  pertuba- 
tion  to  no  other  cause.  Mrs.  Button  is  such  an  indef  at- 
igable  gossip,  that  this  item  could  hardly  have  passed 
her  by.  Has  she  told  you  that  Bosa  TazeweU  is  short 
ly  to  become  Mrs.  Qulton!" 

"She  has." 

He  thought  she  was  nerving  herself  to  a  simulation 
of  hardihood,  and  the  long-indulged  habit  of  censor 
ship  was  strong  upon  him. 

«I  had  trusted,  until  to-day,  Mabel,  that  you  had 
conquered  that  disgraceful  weakness,"  he  resumed,  yet 
more  pitilessly. 

Domination  was  one  of  his  besetting  sins.  He  never 
•aw  a  helpleai  or  cowering  thing  without  feeling  th* 


"BOW  DXAD." 


inclination  to  set  his  foot  upon  it,  and  the  letst  shew 
of  resistan  30  in  snch,  piqned  him  into  despotism, 

"  I  was  aware  that  it  was  not  dead  when  you  JMUT- 
ried  a  man  worth  a  thousand  such  scoundrels  as  thai 
fellow  in  Philadelphia.  I  believed  that  the  sentimeni 
was  powerful  in  impelling  you  to  that  marriage,  and 
that  this  irrevocable  measure  would  be  an  antidote  tx* 
the  evil.  It  was  a  wise  course,  and  I  commended  you 
for  pursuing  it  But  I  am  too  well  read  in  your  coun 
tenance  and  moods  not  to  see  that  there  is  something 
far  amiss  with  you.  You  have  been  playing  a  part  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and  you  have  played  it  wretchedly. 
Tour  nervous  flutters  and  laugh,  your  sudden  changes 
of  complexion,  and  the  incoherence  of  your  language, 
would  betray  you  to  the  least  penetrating  observer.  I 
caution  you  to  be  on  your  guard  lest  your  husband 
should  take  just  offence  at  all  this.  The  need  of  dis 
simulation  is  the  evidence  that  something  is  radically 
wrong  in  your  moral  nature,  and  is  derogatory  to  your 
lawful  partner.  I  am  ashamed  to  remind  you  of  the 
golden  niftirim  of  wedded  life — that  without  perfect 
and  mutual  confidence  there  can  be  no  substantial  hap 
piness.  Does  Dorrance  know  of  your  escapade  at  the 
Springs?" 

"  If  you  refer  to  my  engagement  to  Mr.  Ghilton,  I 
told  him  of  it  before  our  marriage." 

"  I  rejoice  to  hear  it — am  pleased  at  this  one  proof 
tf  good  sense  and  right  feeling,"  in  lofty  patronage 


"BOBN  DEAD"  2*9 

You  owed  him  no  lees.  You  have,  without  doubt 
been  informed  long  since  how  I  obtained  the  most  im 
portant  proof  against  that  villain  ? " 

"  I  have  not  heard  Mr.  Chilton's  name  in  a  yea.  01* 
til  yesterday,"  said  Mabel,  the  scarlet  spots  ceasing  to 
dicker,  and  her  voice  hard  as  was  his  own. 

Unable  to  interpret  her  sudden  steadiness  of  de 
meanor  and  accent,  Winston  leaped  to  the  irritating 
conclusion  that  she  was  sullen,  and  meditated  a  defiant 
retreat  from  this  untimely  usurpation  of  his  olden  an- 
'hority. 

"  It  was  injudicious  —  miserably  ill-judged  in  Dor- 
ranee  not  to  acquaint  you  with  this.  I  have  always 
feared  lest  his  indulgence  might  not  be  the  most  salu 
tary  method  of  repressing  your  self-will  and  pride  of 
opinion.  You,  more  than  any  other  woman  I  know, 
require  the  tight  rein  of  vigilant  discipline.  I  inti 
mated  as  much  to  Dorrance  when  he  asked  my  consent 
to  your  engagement.  But  this  is  his  lookout,  not 
mine.  What  I  began  to  say  was  that,  in  my  opinion, 
he  would  have  acted  more  sensibly  had  he  not  encour 
aged  your  squeamish  repugnance  to  talking  of  youi 
early  fault  and  its  mortifying  consequences." 

"  Fortunately  for  me,  my  husband  is  a  man  of  feel 
ing  and  delicacy  I  *  Mabel  was  graded  to  boast.  "I 
8».id  to  him,  the  evening  of  our  betrothal,  that  the  sub 
ject  you  have  cnosen  to  revive  to-night  was  painful  tc 


260  "00&2T  XUK1ZX* 

me,  and  he  haw  respected  the  reluctance  you  BOH- 
denm." 

"He  would  have  overcome  it  more  quickly  and 
thoroughly  had  he  informed  you  that  he  had  had  th« 
honor  of  horse-whipping  your  ci-devant  betrothed  I" 
sneered  Winston,  with  white  dinted  nostrils.  "That 
he  was  the  author  of  the  letter,  a  portion  of  which  I 
copied  for  your  perusal,  when  I  announced  the  disso 
lution  of  your  provisional  engagement  —  the  main 
agent,  in  effect,  of  the  rupture,  since  but  for  him  I 
should  have  had  much  difficulty  in  proving  what  I  had 
believed  from  the  beginning  —  that  the  rascal  ought  to 
be  shot  for  presuming  to  think  of  you  in  any  othei 
light  than  as  the  merest  acquaintance.  And  he  should 
never  have  been  that,  had  I  been  with  you  that  un 
lucky  summer." 

"  We  have  been  over  that  ground  so  often,  Winston, 
that  both  of  us  should  be  tolerably  familiar  with  it," 
rejoined  Mabel,  decidedly.  "  I  prefer  that,  instead  o* 
reviewing  the  circumstances  of  what  you  term  mj 
'  early  fault,'  you  should  show  me  the  evidence  of  your 
singular  assertion  respecting  Mr.  Dorrance's  agency  in  a 
matter  in  which  he  could  not  at  that  time  have  had  the 
slightest  personal  interest.  Or,  shall  I  ask  him  ?  It  is 
an  enigma  to  me." 

Without  other  answer  than  a  contemptuous  laugh, 
Winston  left  the  room,  unnoticed  by  the  musicians. 
But  before  she  could  form  a  conjecture  as  to  th* 


to&AD"  261 


meaning  of  his  abrupt  movement,  he  was  back  *ith  a 
letter  in  his  hand. 

r<  Documentary  testimony  !  "  he  said,  shortly,  passing 
It  to  her.  "  I  should  have  forwarded  it  entire,  instead 
of  transcribing  an  extract,  but  for  Clara's  fear  lest  yon 
should  be  led  thereby  to  dislike  her  brother  before  yon 
had  ever  seen  him.  I  take  it  there  is  no  danger  oi 
prejudicing  you  against  him  now  !  n 

The  letter  was  from  Herbert  Dorrance,  and  began 
thus: 


AYUCTT: 

"Dewr  Sir,  —  Your  favor  of  the  15th,  enclosed  io 
*ne  from  my  sister,  reached  me  this  morning." 

Then  followed  the  eayposd  of  Frederic  Chilton's  mis 
deeds,  which  Winston  had  transferred  to  his  own  epis 
tle  to  Mabel,  as  the  leading  argument  in  his  refusal  to 
ganctiou  her  engagement. 

Mabel  read  it  through  without  flinching;  then 
turned  over  to  the  first  page  and  put  her  finger  upon  a 
paragraph. 

"  Who  was  the  lady  here  mentioned  ?  " 

Mr.  Aylett  shrugged  his  fine  shoulders. 

"  I  have  never  interested  myself  to  inquire.  Beyond 
the  statement  cf  your  friend's  rascality,  the  story  wai 
tothing  to  me." 

"Herbert!" 


"BOW  DRADS 

The  ringing  call  —  sharp  and  clear  -checked  the 
pianists  in  the  middle  of  a  bar. 

"  Step  here  a  moment,  if  you  please ! " 

The  novelty  of  the  imperative  tone  and  the  glittei 
jf  his  wife's  eyes  moved  Mr.  Dorrance  to  more 
prompt  compliance  than  he  would  have  adjudged  to 
be  dignified  and  husbandly  in  the  case  of  another 
man. 

Mabel  held  out  the  letter  at  his  approach,  still  point 
ing  to  the  passage  she  had  asked  her  brother  to  ex* 
plain. 

"  To  whom  does  this  refer  ?  Who  was  the  relative 
whose  husband  was  a  naval  officer  ? " 

Herbert  Dorrance's  constitutional  phlegm  was  a  val 
nable  ally  in  the  very  contracted  quarters  into  which 
this  question  drove  him,  but  his  sister  was  his  deliv 
erer.  Affecting  forgetfulness  of  the  letter  and  its  con 
tents,  he  glanced  down  one  page,  Mrs.  Aylett  leaning 
upon  his  arm,  and  reading  with  him. 

"  1  don't  think  you  need  mind  telling  the  name, 
here  and  at  this  late  day,  Herbert,"  she  said,  seriously 
ind  slowly,  "provided  Mabel  will  never  repeat  the 
story  when  it  can  do  harm.  Have  you  never  heard 
%ny  of  us  speak  of  poor  Ellen  Lester,  my  mother^ 
niece,  who  died  several  years  before  your  marriage  1 " 
fcccoeting  her  sister-in-law,  with  a  face  so  devoid  of 
aught  resembling  cowardly  or  guilty  fears,  thai  M* 


"BORN  DEAD."  263 

bel's  brain,  tried  and  shaken,  tottered  into  disbelief 
»f  her  own  wild  surmises. 

«  Net  that  I  remember  I " 

*  la  that  so?  Yet  it  might  easily  have  been.  She 
accompanied  her  husband  upon  his  last  voyage,  and 
the  ship  was  never  heard  of  again.  Her  parents  aie 
dead,  too,  BO  there  are  few  to  cherish  her  memory 
She  was  a  school-fellow  of  mine,  and  Herbert  loved 
her  as  a  sister  " 

Mabel  was  gasing  fixedly  at  her  husband's  stolid 
countenance  and  averted  eyes,  and  made  no  rejoinder 
nntil  the  silent  intensity  of  her  regards  compelled  him 
to  look  up.  Heading  distrust  and  alarm  in  these,  he 
shook  off  his  sister's  warning  hold. 

"  When  you  wish  to  catechise  me  upon  family  mat 
ters,  Mabel,  it  is  my  wish  that  you  should  do  it  in  pri 
vate,"  he  said,  roughly.  "Then  you  shall  learn  ail 
that  it  concerns  you  to  know.  There  are  subjects  into 
which  only  prurient  curiosity  cares  to  pry." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon ! "  answered  Mabel,  quietly. 
"  I  have  but  to  say,  in  self -defence,  that  I  did  rot  ask 
to  see  the  letter." 

"It  is  a  matter  of  profound  indifference  to  me 
whether  you  did  or  not,"  was  the  reply.  "  For  aught 
that  I  know  or  cared,  you  may  have  read  iC  a  year  and 
a  half  ago.  I  retract  nothing  that  is  set  d'vm  ther*, 
Clara,  shall  we  go  on  with  our  music  ? " 

G  landing  around  stealthily  at  the  finale  of  tK  * 


264  "JKUBT  DMA&* 

ho  saw  that  Mabel's  chair  was  vacant,  and  Mr. 
was  reading  composedly  beneath  the  lamp. 

Clara  made  the  same  discovery  at  the  same  moment, 
r*id  canie  forward  laughing  to  her  husband. 

"  What  had  you  been  saying  to  our  dear,  excitable 
Mabel,  that  challenged  the  introduction  of  that  unfor 
tunate  document  ? " 

"Told  her  of  Frederic  Chilton's  intended  mar 
riage  I "  curtly,  and  without  laying  aside  his  volume. 

"  Preposterous  I " 

"  I  agree  with  you  — but  it  is  the  truth." 

Herbert  stood  apart  glowing  at  the  fire. 

"  You  must  have  approached  the  subject  unskil 
fully,"  urged  the  peacemaker.  "  These  old  aores  are 
oest  left  alone." 

"  It  is  best  for  married  woman  to  have  none,"  re 
ported  Winston,  doggedly. 

"  She  does  not  persist  in  doubting  his  unworthiness, 
does  she?"  queried  the  wife,  aside,  but  not  so  cau 
tiously  that  her  brother  did  not  hear  her. 

He  wheeled  about  suddenly. 

"  She  shall  believe  it,  or  call  me  a  liar  to  my  face! " 
he  uttered,  angrily.  "  I  will  put  a  stop  to  this  senti 
mental  f oily ! " 

"You  are  late  in  begmning  your  reforms,"  observed 
Mr.  Aylett,  dryly. 

"  You  are  a  loss  sensible  man  than  I  give  you  sredit 
tar  being,  if  you  ever  begin!"  interposed  his  water. 


"JWWfct  JCUUA*  16* 

"Leave  Mabel  to  herself  until  the  recovers  from  the 
ehock —  if  it  be  one  —  of  this  intelligence.  The 
surest  means  of  keeping  alive  a  dying  coal  is  to  stii 
and  blow  upon  it  And  even  we" — lifting  the  heavy 
Locks  of  her  husband's  hair  in  playful  dalliance  — 
"even  we  are  mortal  We  have  had  our  peccadilloes 
and  our  repentances,  and  have  now  our  little  coixseal 
ments  of  affairs  that  would  interest  nobody  but  onr 
selves.  Do  you  hear  what  I  am  saying,  Herbert  I 
Leave  off  your  high  tragedy  airs  and  attend  to  reason, 
%s  expressed  in  your  sister's  advice.  While  your  wife 
is  my  invalid  guest,  I  will  not  have  her  subjected  to 
any  inquisitorial  process.  There  is  a  time  for  every 
thing  under  the  sun,  saith  the  preacher.  This  is  the 
neason  for  tender  forbearance,  and  if  need  be,  of  for 
giveness." 

Herbert  blessed  her  humane  tolerance  in  his  alarmed 
neart,  when  Mabel  awoke  from  her  troubled  slumbers 
at  midnight,  in  extreme  pain,  that  culminated  before 
dawn,  in  convulsions. 

Two  physicians  were  hastily  summoned,  and  when 
Mrs.  Button  arrived  abo^it  noon,  she  met  Phillis  out 
side  the  door  of  the  sick-chamber,  carrying  a  lifeless 
infant  in  her  arms,  and  weeping  bitterly. 

This  was  the  end  of  the  months  of  hopeful  longing 
and  glad  anticipation  which  were  Heaven's  messengers 
of  healing  and  comfort  to  the  sick  and  lonely  heart 
The  cunningly-fashioned  robes  were  never  to  have  * 


266  "HOKZT  3RAD* 

wearer,  the  clasping  arms  to  remain  gtLL  empty.  C*a 
wondrous  mystery —  past  finding  out  —  ct  the  humaa 
Bonl!  Had  the  lungs  once  heaved  with  breath,  the 
heart  given  one  throb ;  the  eyes  caught  one  beam  of 
Heaven's  light  ere  they  were  sealed  fast  in  etern*' 
darkness,  she,  who  travailed  with  the  infant  through 
the  inexpressible  agony  of  birth,  would  have  been  writ 
ten  a  mother  among  women;  have  had  the  right  ac 
corded  her,  without  the  cavil  of  formalist  or  the  dis 
putations  of  science,  to  claim  the  precious  thing  as  hei 
own  still  —  a  living  baby-spirit  that  had  fluttered  back 
to  the  bosom  of  the  Almighty  Father,  after  alighting, 
for  one  painful  moment,  upon  the  confines  of  the  lowei 
world.  As  it  was,  custom  ordained  that  there  should 
be  no  mourning  for  what  had  never  really  been.  An 
guish,  hope,  and  the  patient  love  at  which  we  do  not 
scoff  when  the  mother-bird  broods  over  the  eggs  that 
may  never  hatch  —  these  were  to  be  no  more  named 
or  remembered.  In  silence  and  without  sympathy 
she  must  endure  her  disappointment.  The  tenderest 
woman  about  whose  knees  cluster  living  children,  and 
who  has  sowed  in  tears  the  blessed  seed,  that  in  the 
resuirection-morn  shall  be  gathered  in  beauteous 
rheaves  of  richest  recompense  —  would  smile  in  pity 
ing  contempt  over  the  tiny  headstone  which  should  be 
lettered  —  "  Bom  Dead." 

All  this  and  much  more  Mabel  was  to  learn  with 
the  return  of  health  and  reason,  but  she  lay  now,  like 


DXA1)»  267 


who  had  passed  for  herself  the  narrow  sea  that 
aeparates  the  Now  from  the  Hereafter  ;  her  feature! 
chiselled  into  the  unmoving  outlines  of  a  waxen  .anage, 
only  a  feeble  flutter  of  breath  and  pulse  telling  that 
this  was  lethargy,  not  death.  They  watcned  her  aL 
night,  Mrs.  Button  on  one  side  and  Phillis  on  the  other, 
the  family  physician  stealing  in  with  slippered  tread 
from  hour  to  hour,  to  note  with  his  sensitive  touch  if 
the  few  poor  drops  of  vital  blood  yet  trickled  from 
veins  to  heart,  always  with  the  same  directions,  "  Give 
her  the  stimulant  while  she  can  swallow  it.  It  is  the 
only  hope  of  saving  her." 

Armed  with  this,  the  two  devoted  women  fought 
the  Destroyer,  praying  inaudibly,  while  they  wrought, 
for  the  life  of  the  child  they  had  reared  to  her  sor 
rowful  womanhood. 

u  IIJs  asleep,  and  so  is  she  !  "  whispered  Fhillis, 
once,  pointing  alternately  to  the  adjoining  room  where 
Herbert  Dorrance  awaited  the  issue  of  this  criticaJ 
stage  of  his  wife's  illness,  and  to  Mrs.  Aylett's  chamber 
across  the  halL  "  The  Lord  forgive  'em  both  1  It 
won't  be  they  two  that  will  shed  many  tears  if  so  be 
fche  doesn't  see  the  light  of  another  day  —  the  mar- 
dercd  lamb  !  They  tormented  the  life  out  of  her.  I 
passed  by  her  room  last  night  before  bed-time,  ard 
heard  her  a-sobl;  in'  and  t-albV  to  herself,  and  walkin' 
up  and  down  the  floor,  and  tftey  a-bangin'  »way  on  tht 
pyano  down  in  the  parlor  I  " 


"BORN  DEAD." 


The  faithful  creature's  prejudice  wronged  one  of  the 
hated  pair.  Mrs.  Aylett's  slumbers  upon  her  downy 
couch  might  be  none  the  less  serene  for  her  sister-in-law*g 
danger,  but  Herbert's  was  the  sleep  of  exhaustion,  not 
uallousness.  He  had  been  np  all  the  previous  night, 
•md  racked  by  the  wildest  anxiety  throughout  the  in 
tervening  day,  and  to  compass  this  vigil  was  beyond 
his  physical  powers.  Mabel  would  not  miss  him,  and 
he  could  do  nothing  for  her  —  would  only  be  in  the  way, 
oeing  totally  unpractised  in  the  art  of  nursing,  he 
reasoned  ;  and  there  was  no  telling  what  new  draught 
upon  his  strength  the  morrow  might  bring.  He  would 
just  lie  down  for  an  hour  ;  then  he  would  be  fresh  for 
whatever  service  might  be  required  of  him.  With 
this  prudent  resolve,  he  threw  himself  along  the  bed 
in  the  spare-room,  and  was  oblivious  of  everything  sub 
lunary  until  sunrise. 

"  If  there  should  be  any  change,  call  me  !  "  Mrs. 
^ylett  had  enjoined,  plaintively.  "  Winston  will  not 
hear  of  my  sitting  up,  but  I  shall  not  close  my  eyes  all 
night,  so  do  not  hesitate  to  disturb  me,  if  I  can  be  of 
afoy  use  whatever." 

Which,  it  is  idle  to  remark,  was  the  last  thing  either 
of  the  nurses  thought  of  doing.  If  their  darling 
were,  in  truth,  dying,  they  were  the  fittest  persona 
to  receive  her  latest  sigh  ;  for  had  they  not  been  present 
at  her  birth,  and  did  not  her  mother  go  to  glory  from 
their  supporting  anoan  t 


BOMXf  aSAD,"  36* 


There  was  a  change,  and  not  a  favorable  one,  befcw 
iaybreak.  Tne  patient,  from  nmtterings  ani  restlesf 
•tarts,  passed  into  violent  delirium,  laughing,  crying, 
and  singing  in  a  style  so  opposed  to  the  prescribed  di 
agnosis  of  her  case,  as  to  lash  the  provincial  doctor  to 
his  wits'  end,  and  extinguish  hi  Aunt  Kachelps  sanguine 
heart  the  faint  hope  to  which  she  had  clung  until  now. 
Herbert,  awakened  finally  by  the  turbulent  sounds 
from  the  room  he  had  been  told  must  be  kept  perfectly 
quiet,  jumped  up,  and  showed  himself,  with  disordered 
hair  and  blinking  eyes,  in  the  door  of  coinmunicatioD« 
just  as  Mabel  struggled  to  rise,  and  pleaded  weepingly 
with  those  who  held  her  down  that  they  would  restore 
her  child  to  her. 

"  I  had  her  hi  my  arms  not  a  moment  ago  !  "  she 
insisted.  "  See  !  the  print  of  her  little  head  is  here  on 
my  breast  !  You  have  taken  her  away  among  you  t 
I  saw  it  all  —  those  who  ordered  that  it  should  be  done 
and  those  who  did  it,  when  I  was  too  weak  to  hold 
her,  or  to  keep  them  back  !  " 

And  passing  from  the  height  of  furious  invective  to 
deadly  and  earnest  calm,  she  told  them  off  upon  her 
fingers. 

"Clara  Aylett!  Kosa  TareweU!  Winston  Aylett! 
(he  married  Clara  Louise  Dorrance,  you  know  *)  Her 
bert  Dorrance  I  Julius  Lennox  !  " 

The  household  was  astir  by  this  time,  and  Mrs.  Ay 
lett  entered  from  the  hall  as  \JKT  brother  did  from  hit 


270  "BOW  DEAD." 

bedroom.  There  was  but  one  spectator  who  was 
eiently  composed  to  note  and  marvel  at  the  scared  look 
exchanged  by  the  two  at  the  sound  of  toe  last  name. 
This  was  Mr.  Aylett,  who,  from  his  position  behind  hig 
wife,  had  an  excellent  view  of  all  the  actors  in  the  excit 
ing  tableau  before  she  fell  back,  swooning,  in  hii 
arms. 

He  was  alone  with  her  in  their  chamber  when  she  re- 
vived,  and  the  earliest  effort  of  her  restored  conscious 
ness  was  to  seize  both  his  hands  in  hers,  and  scan  his 
face  searchingly  —  it  would  seem  agonizingly  —  until 
his  fond  smile  dispelled  the  unspoken  dread. 

"  Ah ! "  she  murmured,  hiding  her  face  upon  his 
bosom,  "  she  is  still  alive,  then !  I  thought  —  I 
thought "  —  a  mighty  sob  —  "  Don't  despise  your  weak, 
eilly  wife,  darling  1  but  it  was  very  terrible !  I  believed 
it  was  the  last  struggle,  and  was  appalled  at  the  sight 
And  my  poor  Herbert !  he  was  frightfully  overcome 
Did  you  notice  him  I  Will  you  send  him  to  me,  dear I 
I  can  soothe  him  better  than  any  one  else  —  prepare 
him  for  what  is,  I  fear,  inevitable.  I  shall  not  give 
way  again  to  my  terrors." 

The  brother  and  sister  were  still  together  when  word 
was  brought,  two  hours  later,  that  Mabel  had  fallen  ;n- 
to  a  profound  sleep  —  a  good  oinen,  the  doctor  said. 

"  Thank  Heaven  1 "  ejaculated  Herbert,  fervently, 
his  eyes  softening  until  he  timed  away  to  conceal  hi* 
emotion. 


"BC&N  4JE4A"  271 

He  was  haggard  with  solicitude,  while  Mrs.  Ayletfi 
healthful  bloom  betokened  slight  interest  in  the  :er 
mination  of  the  seizure,  a  glance  at  which  had  thrown 
ber  into  a  faint.  Nor  did  she  echo  the  thanksgiving 
She  waited  until  the  messenger  had  gone,  and  contin 
ued  the  conversation  her  entrance  had  interrupted. 

"  I  incline  to  the  belief  that  she  caught  the  name, 
in  some  manner,  on  Christmas  before  last.  He  was 
delirious,  too,  and  although  doctor  and  nurse  reported 
.hat  he  did  not  speak  articulately  after  he  was  brought 
<n,  she  may  have  heard  more  than  they.  From  what 
has  been  told  me,  I  gather  that  she  was  in  the  room 
with  him  alone,  while  Mrs.  Button  was  down-stairs 
looking  for  Dr.  Ritchie.  In  a  lucid  interval  he 
may  have  given  his  name  —  possibly  some  particulars 
of  his  history.  Unless  —  are  you  positive  there  has 
been  no  indiscretion  on  your  part,  or  that  others  may 
have  talked  negligently  to  her,  because  she  was  a  mem 
ber  of  the  family  ? " 

"  There  are  topics  of  which  we  —  your  mother,  wa 
ter,  and  brothers  —  never  speak,  even  to  one  another. 
You  may  trust  us  that  far,"  rejoined  Herbert,  em 
phatically.  "  Nor  do  I  see  what  we  can  do,  except 
wait  for  other  proof  that  Mabel  really  knows  anything 
beyond  a  name  she  has  picked  up  at  random  and  never, 
to  my  knowledge,  repeated,  save  in  her  ravings.  Should 
ghe  recover,  the  test  can  be  easily  applied,  and  we  cat 
judge  then,  how  to  handle  the  dilemma." 


ST2  "BGEN  J3JLU3." 

"  Should  she  recover ! "  He  said  the  words  reluct 
antly,  as  loth  to  express  the  doubt. 

His  sister's  lips  twitched  nervously  into  a  sinistei 
smile.  It  was  as  if  she  would  have  whispered,  had 
she  dared,  "  Heaven  forbid  I " 

"  You  have  chosen  a  toilsome  and  a  perilous  path, 
Clara,"  he  resumed,  by  and  by.  "  I  do  not  wonder 
that  you  are,  with  all  your  courage  and  sanguine  trust 
in  your  own  powers,  sometimes  disquieted,  and  often 
weary." 

u  Who  says  that  I  am  ever  weary  ?  And  did  you 
aver  know  me  to  disquiet  myself  in  vain  ? "  with  the 
low,  musical  ripple  of  laughter  that  belonged  to  her 
bonniest  mood.  "  Had  I  been  born  in  the  classic  age, 
I  should  have  been  a  devout  disciple  of  Epicurus. 
Don't  imagine  that  my  success  has  not,  thus  far, 
amply  repaid  me  for  my  toil  and  ingenuity.  Having 
lived  upon  excitement  all  my  days,  I  should  starv* 
without  it  Pleasure,  like  safety,  is  the  dearer  for  be 
tag  plucked  from  that  evergreen  nettle,  Danger  t " 


CHAPTER 

THE  GOOD 


HE  snows  of  ten  winters  had  powdered  the  name 
less  stranger's  grave  in  the  servant's  burial- 
ground  of  the  Ridgeley  plantation.  For  nin« 
years  the  wallet  taken  from  his  person  had  lain 
unopened  in  a  hidden  drawer  of  Mabel  Dorrance'i 
escritoire,  and  the  half  -guessed  secret  been  hidden  in 
her  breast.  Mammy  Phillis  had  followed  her  mistres* 
to  the  tomb,  six  months  after  her  removal  from  b&* 
beloved  cottage  to  the  despised  "  quarters."  She  neve* 
held  up  her  head  from  the  day  of  her  degradation^ 
died  from  a  broken  heart,  murmured  those  who  best 
knew  her  —  of  a  "fit  of  spleen,"  said  Mrs.  Aylett,  in 
cool  reprehension  of  her  Tmmii.Tmp.r1y  vassal 

Mabel  had  guarded  the  mystery  well.  Her  husband 
examined  her  —  covertly,  as  he  thought;  awkwardly,  ac 
cording  to  her  ideas  —  with  regard  to  the  vagaries  of 
her  delirium,  and  was  foiled  by  the  grave  simplicity  of 
her  manner  and  replies. 
u  All  she  knows  or  remembers  is  substantially  thii," 

18  078) 


274  TUB  GOOD  SAMA&SIAff. 

Herbert  jotted  down  in  his  notes  for  his  sister's  peru- 
b*] :  "  she  has  associated  in  some  way — she  cannot  teL 
exactly  how  or  why  —  the  nair  e  with  the  tramp  who 
died  in  the  garret.  She  is  net  sore  that  it  was  hii 

iesignatbn.    Thinks  it  was  not,  or  that,  if  used  by  him, 

*..  was  an  alias.  Has  an  impression  that  it  was  marked 
apon  his  clothing,  or  upon  a  paper  found  in  his  pocket. 
Showed  no  agitation  and  little  interest  in  the  subject, 
except  when  she  inquired  if  I  saw  the  stranger  at  all 
—  living  or  dead.  Was  glad  I  could  reply  truly, 

No.'  Answer  seemed  to  gratify  her,  which  you  may 
consider  a  disagreeable  augury.  Am  convinced  that 
her  illness  resulted  from  natural  and  unavoidable  causes 

—  that  neither  F C nor  J L had  any 

connection  with  it.  It  will  be  months  before  mind 
and  body  recover  their  tone." 

"  Lawyerly  1  ergo,  absurd  and  unsatisfactory  ! "  pro 
nounced  the  reader,  to  whom  the  foregoing  leaf  had 
been  committed  on  the  morning  ef  her  brother's  de 
parture  with  his  slowly-convalescing  wife  for  their 
Albany  home.  "But  until  the  nettle  pricks  more 
nearly,  I  shall  continue  to  enjoy  my  roses." 

They  had  blossomed  thickly  about  her  path  during 
this  decade.  Her  matronly  beaaty  was  the  wonder  and 
praise  of  the  community.  The  changing  seasons  that 
had  bleached  the  locks  upon  her  husband's  temples  and 
heightened  his  forehead  had  spared  the  Ironzed  chestnut 
of  her  luxuriant  tresses.  Her  figure  was  larger  and 


TEE  GOOD  8AXARITAN.  27* 

fuller,  but  graceful,  and  more  qaeenly  than  ol  jore  — 
if  that  could  be.  There  was  not  an  untunefiL  inflec 
tion  in  her  voice,  or  a  furrow  between  her  brows. 
Under  her  careful  management  the  homestead  wore 
every  year  an  air  of  increased  elegance.  No  other 
furniture  for  many  miles  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
could  compare  with  hers;  no  other  servants  were  BO 
well-trained,  no  grounds  so  beautifully  ornamented  and 
trimly  kept. 

"  But  for  all  that  Ridgeley  is  a  lonely,  desolate  place 
to  me,"  said  Mrs.  Sutton,  one  early  spring  morning  to 
her  niece  and  crony,  Mrs.  William  Sutton.  "  A  house 
without  children  is  worse  than  a  last  year's  bird's  nest. 
It  is  a  riddle  to  me  how  Clara  Aylett  contrives  to 
occupy  her  time." 

"  She  should  have  some  of  these  socks  to  darn,  if  it 
hangs  upon  her  hands,"  replied  Mrs.  William,  humor 
ously,  running  her  five  fingers  through  the  toe  of  one 
she  had  just  picked  up  from  the  great  willow  basket 
set  between  the  two  upon  the  porch-floor. 

"  The  Lord  isn't  very  apt  to  make  mothers  out  of  that 
sort  of  material,"  said  the  elder  lady.  '*Nor  fathers 
out  of  Winston  Ayletts.  They  are  so  wrapped  up  k 
their  self-consequence  as  to  have  no  thought  foi 
others." 

"Yet  they  say  Mr.  Aylett  regrets  that  he  has  no 
heir.  It  is  a  great  pity  Mabel  lost  her  only  child  a* 


fc7*>  THS  GOOD  SAMARITAN. 

she  did.    The  family  will  become  extinct  in  another 
generation.     It  is  such  a  noble  estate,  too  I " 

"  Large  families  were  never  the  rule  among  the  Ay 
ietts,"  responded  Aunt  Rachel.  "  Bnt  I  did  hope  My 
dear  Mabel  would  be  an  exception  to  the  rest  in  thin 
respect.  She  would  adopt  a  little  girl,  but  her  husband 
will  not  consent.  Those  Dorrances  are  a  cold-hearted 
race.  He,  too,  is  heaping  up  riches,  without  knowing 
who  shall  gather  them.  Heigh-ho !  " 

Her  darning-needle  quilted  the  yawning  heel  of 
Tommy  Button's  sock  with  precision  and  celerity,  and 
she  ruminated  silently  upon  the  vicissitudes  and  fail 
ures  of  mortal  life  until  she  was  interrupted  by  Mrs. 
William's  exclamation : 

"  There  is  Mrs.  Tazewell's  carriage  at  the  gate,  and 
the  driver  has  a  letter  in  his  hand.  I  hope  the  old 
lady  is  not  worse  I " 

Aunt  Eachel  met  the  man  at  the  steps,  with  neigh 
borly  anxiety. 

u  How  is  your  mistress,  Jack ! " 

"'Bout  the  same,  ma'am.  But  Miss  Rosa  —  she 
came  last  night  very  unexpected,  and  it  kinder  worsted 
Mistis  to  see  her  so  poorly.  This  note  is  from  Miss 
ttosa.  ma'am,  and  I  am  to  take  back  an  answer." 

Mrs.  Button  read  it  standing  in  the  porch  —  the 
icented  leaflet  that  had  a  look  of  the  writer  all  over  it 
froin  the  scarlet  monogram  at  the  top  of  the  sheet  and 
upon  the  envelope,  to  the  flourish  of  the  signature  — 


TRS  GOOD  SAMABITAJr* 


T.  <7."  —  the  curl  of  the  C  carried  around  the 
rest  like  a  medallion  frame  : 

44  DEAR,  GOOD  Auisrr  I&AOHEL,  —  I  have  come  to  Old 
Virginia  to  try  and  shake  off  an  uncomfortable  cougli 
which  has  haunted  me  all  winter.  The  Northern 
quacks  can  do  nothing  for  me.  One  ray  of  this  de 
licious  sunshine  is  worth  ail  their  nostrums.  I  wai 
not  prepared  to  find  mamma  helpless,  or  I  should  nol 
have  descended  upon  her  so  unceremoniously.  Being 
here,  I  cannot  retreat  in  good  order  or  with  safety  to 
my  health,  nor  without  wounding  her.  Frederic  must 
return  to  Philadelphia  next  week,  by  which  time  1 
hope  to  be  quite  invigorated.  Now  for  my  audaciout 
proposal.  Can  you  come  over  and  tell  me  how  to  gel 
well  in  the  quickest  and  least  troublesome  way  ?  Dea? 
Auntie!  you  loved  me  once.  When  you  see  what  » 
poor,  spiritless  shadow  I  have  grown  —  or  lessened  — 
to  be,  you  will  care  a  little  bit  for  me  again,  for  tht 
sake  of  lang  syne." 

Mrs.  Button  wiped  her  spectacles  and  gave  the  not* 
to  her  niece. 

u  There  is  but  one  thing  for  me  to  do,  you  see,  my 
dear.  Jack  1  I  shall  be  ready  in  twenty  minutes." 

If  the  line  of  duty  wavered  before  her  sight  during 
the  three-mile  drive,  it  lay  straignt  and  distinct  ahead 
of  her  when  the  atood  ID  lioaa's  chamber. 


THE  QOOJj 


"My  child  I"  she  ejaculated,  upon  the  thresholds 
u  you  did  not  tell  me  that  you  were  confined  to  your 
bed!" 

"  I  ought  not  to  be  !  " 

The  rebellious  pout  and  tone  were  Rosa's,  as  were 
also  the  black  eyes  —  unnaturally  large  and  bright 
though  they  were  —  but  the  pretty  lips  were  wan,  and 
strained  by  lines  of  pain  ;  the  pomegranate  flush  was 
no  longer  variable,  and  was  nestled  in  hollows,  and  the 
hands  were  wasted  to  translucency. 

"  I  am  quite  strong  enough  to  be  up,  wad  would  be,  if 
my  tyrannical  doctors  and  their  tractable  tool,  my  lord 
and  master,  had  not  decreed  that  I  shall  lie  here  until 
midday,  if  I  am  very  obedient  ;  eat  ^iy  meals  ;  take 
their  poisonous  medicines,  and  abstain  trom  coughing. 
If  I  offend  in  any  of  these  particulars  *  am  not  to  rise 
until  three  o'clock  —  when  they  are  i  an  especially 
glum  humor  —  not  at  all  that  day.  Sat  now  you  ar* 
here,  we  shall  combat  them  valorousl*  Dear  Auntie  I  s 
putting  the  thin  arms  about  the  old  fogy's  plump  neck, 
and  laughing  through  a  spring  raL  of  tears,  "how 
gcod  and  safe  it  is  to  be  with  you  again  !  And  you 
are  the  same  kind,  lovely  darling  !  no  cider  by  a  day  — 
no  aglier  by  a  solitary  wrinkle  1  I  couldn't  sleep  last 
aight,  for  fearing  you  would  not  come  to  me  !  " 

"  You  should  not  have  doubted  it,  dear  !  "  said  the 
motherly  voice,  blithe  as  affectionate,  while  soft,  agile 
finger*  undid  the  tight  embrace,  and  commenced,  from 


THE  SOOD  SAMARITAN.  879 

the  force  of  habit,  to  arrange  the  tumbled  bed-clothes. 
"  Wherever  I  can  be  of  most  use  is  the  place  in  which 
I  wish  to  be." 

"  I  snow  you  have  always  lived  for  others,"  answered 
Rosa,  with  an  involuntary  sigh,  a  shadow  glooming  her 
eyes. 

"  For  whom  else  should  I  live  and  work  ? "  laughed 
Mrs.  Sutton,  in  her  cheerful,  guileless  fashion.  "  My 
personal  wants  are  few  and  easily  supplied,  and  I  like 
to  be  busy.  I  account  it  a  privilege  to  be  able  to  fuss 
about  my  friends  when  they  are  ailing." 

By  way  of  doing  as  she  liked,  she  attacked  the  dis 
orderly  room.  Rosa's  three  trunks  stood  in  a  row 
against  the  wall  —  all  of  them  open  —  the  tray  of  the 
largest  lying  beside  it  upon  the  carpet,  the  lid  of  this 
thrown  back  and  the  contents  in  utter  confusion ;  laces 
hanging  over  the  sides  and  trailing  upon  the  floor.  A 
Basket  of  medicines  was  uppermost  in  the  next  trunk, 
crushing  a  confused  medley  of  collars,  ribbons,  gloves, 
and  handkerchiefs.  A  dressing-gown  lay  upon  the 
leat  ot  one  chair,  a  skirt  over  the  back  of  another ; 
boots  and  slippers  peeped  from  the  valance  of  the  an 
tique  bedstead ;  there  was  a  formidable  array  of  bottles 
upon  mantel  and  bureau  —  conspicuous  among  them 
cod-liver  oil,  cologne,  acd  laudanum — incongruous 
appendages  to  the  various  appliances  cf  trie  toilette 
scattered  between  them, 

Mrs.  Sutton  understood  it  all  —  the  hurry  and  agit* 


280  THB  GOOD  SAMA&TTAJf. 

tion  of  the  unlooked-for  arrival;  the  faintness  and 
prostration  of  the  consumptive ;  the  restless  night,  and 
the  well-meant  but  inefficient  ministrations  of  negroei 
in  an  establishment  where  the  mistress  had  been  feeble 
for  years,  and  was  now  chained  to  her  room  and  chaii 
by  paralysis. 

"And  Rosa  was  always  an  indolent  flyabout  in 
health ;  accustomed  to  have  a  score  of  servants  at  her 
heels  to  pick  up  whatever  she  dropped  or  threw  aside," 
she  said  to  herself.  "  My  Mabel  was  a  pink  of  neat 
ness  and  order  compared  with  her.  Dear  me !  here  is 
a  bottle  of  oil,  cracked,  and  an  immense  grease-spot  in 
the  front  breadth  of  a  splendid  silk  dress!  I  hope 
these  things  do  not  annoy  her  as  they  would  me  I " 

Whether  the  universal  disarray  made  Rosa  uncom 
fortable  or  not,  she  enjoyed  the  aspect  of  the  tidj 
apartment,  when  her  nurse  brought  her  noiseless  labor* 
to  a  close  by  exchanging  her  night-gown  for  a  flanneu 
wrapper;  putting  clean  linen  upon  her  and  the  bed; 
combing  the  tangled  hair  and  washing  her  hands, 
wrists,  and  face  in  tepid  water,  interfused  with  co 
logne. 

"  It  prevents  a  sick  person  from  taemg  cold  wneu 
bathed,  and  freshens  her  up  wonderfully,  I  think,"  wai 
her  explanation  of  the  fragrant  preparation. 

u  You  freshen  me  more  than  all  things  else  com* 
bined!"  said  Rosa,  gratefully.  "Ah,  auntie!  how 
often  I  have  thought  of,  and  wished  for  you  thii 


GOOD  BAMABFTAX.  281 

tedious  and  dismal  winter!  I  need  to  spend  entire 
weeks  in  bed,  attended  by  a  horrid  hired  nurse,  who 
took  snuff  and  drank  — -  ugh  I  and  snnbbed  and  terrified 
me  whenever  I  —  as  she  described  it  —  *  took  a  notion 
into  my  head ; '  that  is,  when  I  asked  for  something 
she  thought  was  too  troublesome  for  her  ladyship  to 
prepare,  or  wanted  Fred  to  stay  all  night  in  my  roorn^ 
or  sit  by  me  in  the  evening,  and  pet  me.  She  *  couldn't 
bear  to  have  men  around,  cluttering  up  everything ! " 
«he  would  growl  the  instant  his  back  was  turned,  with 
a  deal  more  of  the  same  talk,  until  I  was  afraid  to  ask 
him  to  take  a  seat  the  next  time  he  came  in.  He  was 
continually  bringing  home  baskets  of  fruit,  and  game, 
and  bouquets  for  me.  She  let  me  have  the  flowers,  but 
she  ate  nine-tenths  of  the  nice  things  herself,  I  never 
suspecting  her,  and  he  was  too  delicate  to  ask  if  1 
enjoyed  his  presents.  At  length  he  surprised  her  in 
&e  act  of  devouring  a  bunch  of  hot-house  grapes,  for 
wrhich  he  had  paid  almost  their  weight  in  gold,  and 
then  all  came  to  light,  and  he  sent  her  off  in  a  hurry. 
Poor  Fred,  there  were  great  tears  in  his  eyes  when  he 
learned  what  persecution  I  had  undergone,  rather  thaa 
"ex  him  by  complaints." 

"  It  would  have  been  better  had  you  told  him  sooner, 
dear  t  It  would  have  spared  you  and  him  much  suffer- 
ing" 

"  J  knew  how  engrossed  he  was  by  nis  business,  and 
how  ignorant  he  was  of  household  or  medical  matter* 


232  THB  GOOD  SAMARITAN. 

and  I  savud  him  all  the  bother  I  conic3  I  have  tried, 
in  some  things  and  some  times,  to  DO  a  good  wife, 
A  ant  Kachel !  But  often  I  have  failed,  O,  how  egre 
giously  \  and  n  —  beginning  to  weep  —  "  the  thought 
piereee  my  heart  by  day  and  by  night.  What  if  I 
never  have  an  opportunity  of  doing  any  better,  cl 
covering  up  the  traces  of  my  footsteps  ? " 

Mrs.  Button  patted  the  wasted  hand  with  her  cool 
one,  but  essayed  no  other  soothing. 

"  Where  is  your  husband  now  ?  I  understood  from 
four  note  that  he  was  with  you." 

"  He  rode  over  to  Dr.  Bitchie's  this  morning,  directly 
he  had  given  me  my  breakfast.  He  thinks  highly  of 
his  skill,  and  he  would  not  be  contented  without  bring 
ing  him  to  see  me.  I  really  believe  he  is  anxious  I 
should  get  well  1  Strange  —  isn't  it  ?  when  I  am  such 
a  burden  upon  his  mind  and  hands." 

Aunt  Kachel  smiled. 

"  Not  at  all  strange,  you  ridiculous  child  I  Two  of 
the  most  dearly-loved  wives  I  ever  knew  were  invalids, 
and  bedridden,  not  for  wet»Ls  only,  but  for  years.  You 
can  best  show  your  grati'.ade  for  his  affection  and  kind 
ness  by  getting  better  rapidly  while  he  is  here,  that  he 
may  leave  you  with  a  lighter  heart." 

"  He  is  kind !  too  kind ! "  murmured  Kosa,  compos 
ing  herself  among  the  cushions,  as  if  to  sleep. 

She  wa&  quiet  so  long  that  Mrs.  Sutton  had  leisure 
for  acme  reflections  rotating  to  her  own  personal 


THS  GOOD  SAMARITAN.  883 

in  the  somewhat  embarrassing  position  she  occupied. 
She  had  never  seen  Frederic  Chilton  from  the  day  ho 
left  Kidgeley  as  Mabel's  betrothed.  His  visits  to  the 
neighborhood  since  his  marriage  had  been  few  and 
brief,  and  she  had  studied  to  avoid  him  whenever  she 
happened  to  be  with  the  William  Buttons  during  one 
of  these.  He  might  hava  guessed  her  design,  or  un 
wittingly  favored  it  on  hi*  >wn  account.  The  meeting 
could  not  be  more  pleasant  to  him  than  to  her.  But 
why  had  he  allowed  his  wife  to  send  for  her  ?  The 
alteration  in  him  must  indeed  be  great,  if  he  could, 
without  a  conflict  with  resentful  and  painful  memories, 
bow  his  pride  to  sue  for  the  services  of  a  relative  of  the 
Ayletts,  and  formerly  one  of  their  household,  even  in 
such  a  cause  as  that  which  now  commanded  her  sym 
pathies. 

At  this  point  of  her  cogitation  she  became  aware 
that  Rosa's  eyes  were  wide  open,  and  staring  at  her  with 
a  whimsical  blending  of  curiosity,  melancholy,  and 
gratification. 

"  Aunt  Rachel  I w  she  said,  bluntly,  "  you  are  a 
*ery  good  woman !  the  best  and  most  forgiving  human 
being  I  ever  heard  of.  I  should  not  feel  one  particle 
of  surprise  to  see  you  float  up  gently  through  the  roof, 
at  any  minute  —  cap,  spectacles,  and  all  —  translated  to 
the  society  of  your  sister  angels  —  and  no  question 
asked  by  St  Peter  at  the  gate  of  Paradise  1 " 

"My  love  I" 


284  THS  atOD  SAMARITAN. 

Well  as  she  knew  her  erratic  disposition  and 
•tyle  of  speech,  Mrs.  Button  moved  her  hand  toward  th* 
patient's  pulse. 

"  I  am  not  raving !  I  speak  the  words  of  truth  and 
soberness  —  very  sad  soberness,  too !  Believing  as  you 
do  that  Frederic  was  once  the  cause  of  much  sorrow 
to  you  and  to  one  you  loved,  and  having  no  reason  to 
«mre  one  iota  for  me,  but  rather  to  distrust  me,  you 
nevertheless  obey  my  call  upon  you  for  service,  as  if  I 
had  every  right  to  make  it.  And  when  here,  you  trea* 
me  just  as  you  would  Mabel,  were  her  situation  as  de 
plorable,  her  need  equal  to  mine." 

"  Why  shouldn't  I  ? "  questioned  Mrs.  Button,  simplj , 
"  I  have  no  ground  for  a  quarrel  with  you.  And  if  1 
had — well,  the  truth  is,  my  dear,  I  have  a  poor 
memory  for  such  things ! " 

Rosa  caught  at  the  scarcely  perceptible  emphasis  upon 
the  "  you, "  and  disregarded  the  remainder  of  the  re 
mark. 

"You  cannot  yet  acquit  Frederic  of  wrong-doing  I 
Indeed,  Mrs.  Button,  he  has  been  foully  wronged 
among  you.  It  is  not  because  he  is  my  husband  that 
I  say  this.  Mabel's  name  has  never  passed  his  lips  -  - 
nor  mine  in  his  hearing,  since  I  became  his  wifte. 
And  every  one  of  the  family  has  been  equally  guarded 
when  he  was  by.  I  doubt,  sometimes,  if  he  has  ever 
heard  whom  she  married  or  where  she  lives — so  care 
fully  hag  he  shunned  every  reference  to  her  or  any  of 


TBS  GOOD  &AMAM1TAJ9. 

fche  Kidgeley  people.  During  the  nine  years  fire  have 
lived  togethei,  he  has  given  me  no  cause  to  susjiect  that 
he  ever  thinks  of  her,  or  laments  the  broken  engage 
ment.  If  I  have  made  myself  wretched  by  imagining 
the  contrary,  it  was  my  fault,  not  his  —  my  foolish, 
wicked  jealousy.  I  would  scorn  to  imply  a  doubt  of 
his  integrity,  by  reminding  him  of  the  charges  pre 
ferred  against  him  by  Winston  Aylett,  and  believed  by 
bis  sister — much  less  ask  him  to  contradict  them.  I 
never  put  any  faith  in  them  from  the  outset.  It  com 
forts  me  to  recollect  that  my  confidence  in  him  stood 
fast  when  everybody  else  distrusted  him — my  noble, 
slandered  darling!  But  my  declaration  of  his  inno 
cence  is  founded  upon  his  blameless  life  and  upright 
principles.  No  one  could  be  with  him  as  1  have  been, 
and  doubt  him.  He  is  a  perfect  man — if  there  was 
ever  a  sinless  mortal  —  great-hearted,  gentle,  and  sin 
cere.  Do  not  I  know  this  ?  Have  I  not  proved  him 
lo  the  utmost  I n 

Her  rapid,  impassioned  declamation  was  ended  by  ft 
c  >pious  flood  of  grief  that  provoked  a  frightful  fit  of 
coughing.  When  this  was  subdued  she  was  weaker  than 
a,  year-old  infant,  and  lay  between  stupor  and  dreaming 
for  so  long  a  time,  that  Mrs,  Suttcn  became  alarmed. 

There  must  be  no  repetition  of  this  scene.  She 
must  ward  off  similar  mishaps  by  whatever  measures 
-jb.e  could  force  or  cajole  her  conscience  into  adopting. 
Rosa's  state  was  more  precarious  than  her  account  had 


286  THE  GOOD  BAMASTTAJf. 

led  her  friend  to  believe,  or  than  the  nurse's  experienced 
eye  had  seen  at.  their  meeting.  The  main  hope  of  lite 
recovery  was  in  the  warmer  climate  and  assidnotu 
attendance.  Above  all,  she  should  not  be  allowed  to 
exhaust  herself  by  talMng,  or  hysterical  paroxysm 
She  had  no  more  self-control  than  a  child,  and  she 
most  be  treated  aa  such.  Mrs.  Button's  Jesuitical  re 
solve  was  to  humor  her  by  every  imaginable  device; 
even  to  feigned  friendship  for  Frederic  Chilton. 

Fortified  by  this  resolution,  she  heard,  without  any 
show  of  pride  or  trepidation,  the  clatter  of  horses'  hoofs 
in  the  yard ;  the  sound  of  voices  below  stairs,  as  Mr. 
Chilton  ushered  the  physician  into  the  parlor,  and  the 
light,  careful  tread  with  which  he  mounted  to  his  wife's 
apartment.  His  momentary  pause  at  the  entrance, 
and  surprised  look  at  beholding  the  other  tenant  of  the 
chamber,  were  the  best  passport  to  her  indulgence  ho 
could  have  desired.  It  was  clear  to  her  instantly  that 
poor  Rosa's  passion  for  manoeuvring  had  survived  the 
wreck  of  health  and  prostration  of  spirits.  She  haa 
never  chosen  the  straight  path  if  she  could  find  a 
crooked  or  a  by-road,  and  her  project  for  obtaining  Mrs, 
Button's  services  and  company  had  been  put  into  exe 
cution,  without  consultation  with  her  husband.  How 
ever  reprehensible  this  might  be  in  the  abstract,  it  wa* 
not  in  the  kind  old  soul  to  betray  her,  as  she  advanced, 
placidly  and  civilly,  to  reassure  the  startled  mar. 

"How  are  you,  Mr,  Chilton  I    You  hardly  expected 


THS  GOO&  SAMARITAN.  287 

to  meet  me  here,  I  suppose  ?  Bnt  I  am  &  real  neighbor 
of  Mrs.  Tazewell  now,  and  hearing  that  Koea  was  sick, 
I  came  over  to  see  if  I  could  do  anything  for  her, 
knowing  how  infirm  her  mother  is. " 

"  You  are  very  kind  1 "  He  grasped  her  hand  moic 
lightly  than  he  intended,  or  was  conscious  of.  u  We 
were  ignorant  ourselves  of  Mrs.  TazewelPs  true  con 
dition.  Mrs.  Chilton's  sisters  have  forwarded  more  en 
couraging  reports  to  her  of  her  mother's  illness  than 
they  would  have  been  warranted  in  doing  by  anything 
except  'the  fear  that  a  faithful  account  would  operate 
injuriously  upon  the  daughter's  health.  I  should  have 
chosen  some  other  home  for  my  wife,  had  I  known  the 
actual  state  of  affairs  here.  Change  of  scene  and  cli 
mate  was  imperatively  demanded." 

He  spoke  low  and  rapidly  —  hardly  above  his  breath ; 
out  the  black  eyes,  unclosing,  flashed  upon  him. 

"  So  you  have  come  back!"  said  Eosa's  weak  voice 
u  Yon  stayed  away  an  eternity ! " 

Her  coquettish  displeasure  and  the  asperity  of  hei 
accent  contrasted  BO  oddly  with  her  vehemently  ex 
pressed  attachment  for  her  husband  and  extolnient  of 
hia  virtues,  that  Mrs.  Sutton  regarded  her  in  speecLeai 
amazement.  She  submitted  to  his  kiss,  without  return 
ing  it  —  even  raising  her  hand  pettishly  as  to  repel  fur 
ther  endearments.  "  I  should  have  died  of  the  blue 
devils  if  Aunt  Eachel  hadn't,  by  the  merest  accident, 
heard  that  I  was  ailing,  and  driven  over,  like  the  Good 


288  THS  GOOD  BAMA&ITAJf. 

Samaritan  she  is,  to  take  pity  upon  me  in  my  deatita 
tion ;  to  pour  oil — not  cod-liver — into  my  wounds,  and 
wine  into  my  mouth.  She  is  better  than  all  the  men- 
doctors  that  were  ever  created ;  so  if  you  have  brought 
/our  bearded  Esculapius  home  with  you,  you  may  tell 
him,  with  my  compliments,  that  I  won't  see  Kim  yet 
awhile.  He  was  an  old  beau  of  mine,  and  I  hope  J 
have  too  much  respect  for  what  I  used  to  be,  to  let  hiir 
get  a  glimpse  of  me  until  Dr.  Button  has  set  me  up  in 
wetter  flesh  and  looks.  She  brought  me  some  enchant 
ing  jelly —  one  of  her  magical  preparations  for  the 
amelioration  of  human  misery,  and  I  am  to  have  a 
bowl  of  her  unparalleled  chicken-broth  for  dinner.  I 
wish  dinner-time  were  come !  the  very  thought  makes 
tae  ravenous.  I  am  to  do  nothing  for  a  week,  but  eat, 
think,  and  sleep,  at  the  end  of  which  period  I  shall  be 
dismissed  as  thoroughly  cured.  So,  Mr.  Chilton,  you 
jan  go  back  to  your  beloved  clients  whenever  you 
;>lease!" 

To  Mrs.  Button's  apprehension  this  was  an  infelici 
tous  introduction  of  herself  to  the  husband's  toleration. 
Certainly,  she  did  not  know  many  men  who  would  have 
parried  the  thrusts  at  themselves  with  the  dexterity  he 
manifested,  and  acknowledged  her  merits  and  kindly 
offices  willingly  and  gracefully.  He  did  not  apologize 
for  his  protracted  absence,  nor  insist  upon  conveying 
his  physician  to  the  sick-chamber;  but  he  chatted  for 
five  minutes  or  thereabouts  upon  such  topics  as  lit 


THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN.  289 

knew  would  entertain  the  captions  invalid,  and  finally 
arose  from  the  bed-side,  where  he  had  been  sitting, 
fondling  her  hot  hands,  with  a  good-humored  laugh. 

"  But  all  the  while  I  am  enjoying  myself  hers,  the 
hirsute  Galen  aforesaid  is  munching  the  invisible  salad 
of  the  solitary  in  the  parlor !  I  am  to  eject  him 
incontinently,  am  I  ?  My  conscience  will  not  let  me 
withhold  the  admission,  when  I  do  this,  that  my  wife's 
judgment  in  the  matter  of  medical  attendants  is  vastly 
superior  to  mine.  While  Mrs.  Sutton  is  so  good  as  to 
*emain  with  you,  you  are  right  in  thinking  that  yon 
have  need  of  no  other  physician." 

Aunt  Kachel  would  have  entered  a  disclaimer,  but 
Rosa  spoke  before  Bhe  could  open  her  mouth. 

"I  didn't  say  that,  Frederic  1  There  was  never 
iuch  another  impatient  and  inconsiderate  creature 
upon  the  globe  as  yourself.  It  would  be  unpardonably 
rude  in  us  to  send  the  man  away,  if  he  is  a  charlatan, 
without  letting  him  see  me.  Have  him  up,  by  all 
means,  and  let  us  hear  wh  it  priggish  nonsense  he  has 
to  say.  He  will  feel  the  easier  when  it  is  done." 

Dr.  Ritchie's  private  report  to  Mrs.  Sutton,  who  ac 
companied  him  to  the  lower  floor,  under  color  of  seeing 
that  he  was  served  with  luncheon,  was  discouraging. 
The  disease  had  made  fearful  inroads  upon  a  constitu 
tion  that  had  never  been  robust,  and  the  nervous  excitr 
ability  of  the  patient  was  likely  to  accelerate  horde- 
dine.  She  might  linger  for  several  months.  It  woiild 
If 


290  THE  OCOD  SAMARITAN. 

not  surprise  him  to  hear  that  she  had  died  within  twelve 
hours  after  his  visit.  It  was  but  fair  and  professional 
he  added,  that  he  should,  through  Mrs.  Sutton,  ad 
vise  Mr.  Chilton  of  her  state,  although,  unless  he  wert 
mistaken,  he  had  already  anticipated  his  verdict. 

This  Mrs.  Sutton  found  was  the  case,  when  she  ea- 
Bayed  that  evening  to  insure  him  against  the  awful 
shock  of  his  wife's  unexpected  dissolution. 

"  She  has  never  been  entirely  well  since  tLe  death 
of  our  second  child,  a  year  ago, "  he  said.  "  The  little 
one  was  buried  on  a  very  stormy  day,  and  the  mother 
would  not  be  dissuaded  from  going  to  the  cemetery 
The  severe  cold,  acting  upon  a  system  enfeebled  by 
grief,  induced  an  attack  of  pneumonia.  Dr.  Ritchie 
but  coincides  with  every  other  physician  I  have  con 
suited." 

"  It  is  a  pity  you  are  obliged  to  leave  her  so  soon," 
observed  the  sympathizing  nurse.  "  Although  she  maj 
be  more  comfortable  a  week  hence  than  she  is  now." 

"A  week  1  I  had  no  intention  of  returning  in  lesa 
than  a  month's  time.  I  made  all  my  arrangements  to 
that  effect  before  leaving  home.  Rosa's  reference  to 
my  desire  to  go  back  to  my  clients  was  sheer  badin 
age  "  —  smiling  mournfully.  "  You  have  heard  her  talk 
often  enough  to  understand  how  little  of  earnest  there 
is  in  the  raillery."  More  insincerity !  For,  contradic- 
tory  as  it  may  appear,  Mrs.  Sutton  felt  constrained  to 
believe  his  unsupported  word,  in  opposition  to  hia  wif ft 


THE  GOOD  3AMA&ITAJ/.  991 

written  assertion  that  he  designed  to  return  to  hit  prac 
tice  the  ensuing  week. 

"  She  thought  I  would  be  more  apt  to  come  if  1  im 
agined  that  he  would  soon  be  gone ! "  was  her  grieved 
reflection.  "  If  she  could  oeguile  me  hither  by  this  as 
surance,  she  trusted  to  her  coaxings  and  my  compassion 
to  retain  me.  O  Eosa  I  Rosa !  cannot  even  the  honefft 
bour  teach  you  to  be  truthful!" 


CHAPTER  XVL 

THX  HONEST  HOUB. 

HE  ahadow  of  death  drew  on  apace  to  the  sight 
of  all,  save  the  consumptive,  and  her  semi-imbe 
cile  mother.  These  seemed  alike  blind  to  the 
fatal  symptoms  that  were  more  strongly  denned 
with  every  passing  day.  The  paralytic  sat  in  her 
wheeled  chair,  in  the  March  sunshine,  at  the  window  of 
her  chamber,  and  talked  droningly  of  other  times  and 
paltry  pleasures  to  that  one  of  her  daughters  or  grand 
children  whose  turn  it  was  to  minister  to  her  comfort 
and  amusement,  and  insisted  upon  having  all  the  neigh 
borhood  news  repeated  in  her  dull  ear  with  wearisome 
-to  the  narrator — amplifications  and  reiterations, 
shaking  with  childish  laughter  at  the  humorous  pas 
sages,  and  whimpering  at  the  pathetic.  Iloea  cheated 
time  cf  heaviness  by  unceasing  demands  upon  her  at 
tendants  for  service  and  diversion.  Unable  to  sleep, 
except  at  long  intervals,  in  snatches  of  fitful  dozing; 
•he  had  A  horror  of  being  alone  for  an  instant,  from 
until  dawn ;  was  ingenious  in  contrivance!  to 


THE  HONJS8T  ffOJTM.  393 

prise  an  unwary  watcher  nodding  upon  aer  pott; 
plenteous  and  plaintive  in  lamentations,  if  the  devica 
succeeded.  Fifty  times  a  night  her  pillows  must  be 
shaken,  her  drink,  food,  or  medicine  given,  and  after 
each  of  these  offices  had  been  performed,  occurred  the 
petition : 

"  Now  —  sit  where  I  can  see  you  whenever  I  cpen 
my  eyes!  It  drives  me  crazy  to  imagine  for  a  mo 
ment  that  I  am  by  myself.  I  want  to  be  sure  all  the 
while  that  some  living  human  being  is  near  at  hand. 
I  have  such  frightful  dreams  I  I  awake  always  with 
the  impression  that  I  am  drowning  or  suffocating,  or 
floating  away  into  a  sea  of  darkness  alone  ! " 

With  the  light  of  day,  her  spirits  revived,  and  her 
hopes  of  speedy  recovery. 

"  You  need  not  grudge  waiting  upon  me  now,  for  I 
shall  be  up  and  about  shortly  —  well  and  spry  as  the 
best  of  you ! "  she  would  say.  "  And  while  I  am  play- 
ing  invalid,  I  mean  to  have  my  quantum  of  attention. 
I  have  been  avaricious  of  devotion  all  my  life,  and  thi* 
is  a  golden  chance  that  may  never  happen  again." 

Her  husband  she  would  not  willingly  suffer  to  leave 
her  for  an  instant  But  for  Mrs.  Button's  management 
and  kindly  authority,  he  would  have  been  condemned 
to  take  his  meals  at  her  bedside  and  from  the  same 
tray  with  herself.  She  would  be  removed  from  the 
bed  to  the  lounge  by  no  other  arms  than  his,  and  at 
•ny  hour  of  the  twenty-four  he  was  liable  to  be  called 


294  THS  30XTB8T  UOUB. 

upon  to  read,  sing,  or  talk  her  into  compos  are.  Varia 
ble  as  ever  in  mood  and  fancy,  and  more  capricious  hi 
the  exhibition  of  these,  she  was  fond,  sullen,  teasing, 
and  mirthful  with  him  as  the  humor  of  the  moment 
dictated ;  sometimes  assailing  him  with  reproaches  for 
his  indifference  and  want  of  regard  for  her  wishes  and 
tastes,  now  that  she  was  no  longer  young,  pretty,  and 
sprightly ;  at  others,  clinging  to  him  with  protestations 
of  repentance  and  love,  bewailing  her  waywardness 
and  imploring  his  forbearance;  then,  taking  him  to 
*ask  for  the  slightest  inadvertence  —  the  spilling  of  a 
drop  of  her  medicine  or  jarring  of  her  sofa  or  bed ; 
anon  lauding  him  to  the  skies  as  the  most  skilful  nurse 
she  had,  and  enjoining  upon  all  about  her  to  render 
verbal  testimonial  to  his  irreproachableness  as  husband 
and  man  —  oh  1  it  was  a  wearisome,  oftentimes  a  re 
volting  duty  to  listen  to  and  bear  with  it  all  —  keep  in 
mind  though  one  did  that  the  intolerable  restlessness 
preluded  centuries  of  dreamless  repose. 

Mrs.  Button  could  endure  everything  eke  better  — 
and  she  believed  that  it  was  the  same  with  Frederic  — 
than  the  needless  and  puerile  trickery  to  which  Rosa 
resorted  to  achieve  the  most  trivial  purposes.  If  she 
wished  that  one  of  her  sisters  should  pass  the  day  with 
her,  or  to  sit  up  for  a  part  of  the  night,  she  worked 
upon  her  by  means  of  others'  intercessions,  or  broached 
ihe  subject  by  covert  passages,  the  end  of  which,  she 
flattered  herself,  was  successfully  masked,  until  her 


THE  HONEST  HOUR. 

train  was  ready  for  explosion.  Did  she  set  her  f anej 
upon  any  particular  article  of  diet,  the  sanne  tort~ouf 
course  was  pursued  to  present  the  delicacy  in  questior? 
to  the  mind  of  him  or  her  who,  she  designed,  should  be 
the  provider.  Under  her  sauciest  rattle  of  fun  or  per 
versity  lurked  some  subtle  meaning.  She  had  either 
some  end  to  subserve,  or  wanted  to  possess  herself  of 
some  bit  of  information  she  could  have  gained  sooner 
and  more  easily  by  direct  inquiry.  Cajolery  and  in 
trigue  had  become  a  second  nature,  stronger  than  the 
original ;  and  it  never  occurred  to  her  that  her  wiles,  in 
her  mental  and  bodily  decadence,  were  transparent  as 
they  had  once  been  artful. 

A  discovery,  made  on  the  fourth  day  of  her  visit,  ex 
cited  Mrs.  Button's  sympathies  in  behalf  of  the  much 
enduring  husband  to  a  pitch  it  required  long  and 
serious  pondering  upon  the  wife's  weakness  and  critical 
condition  to  restrain  from  indignant  demonstration. 

Rosa  was  sleeping  more  soundly  than  usual  under 
the  influence  of  an  anodyne,  and  Frederic,  with  a 
whispered  apology  to  his  coadjutor,  went  into  the  next 
oom,  leaving  the  door  ajar.  From  her  seat,  Mrs.  Snt» 
ton  had  a  distinct  view  of  him  in  an  opposite  mirror — 
a  circumstance  of  which  she  was  not  aware  for  several 
minutes.  Happening,  then,  to  look  up  from  her  knit 
ting  she  saw  that  he  was  writing,  and  half  an  hour  af 
terward  that  he  was  leaning  back  in  his  chair,  looking 
Rt  something  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  a  mingling  cl 


290  TBS  HONEST  BOWL 

sack  love  and  sadness  in  his  countenance  that  she  felt 
it  would  be  unlawful  prying  into  his  most  sacred  feel 
ings  for  her  to  watch  him  longer.  He  turned  his  head 
at  the  slight  rustle  she  made  in  removing  to  another 
part  of  the  room,  and  beckoned  to  her.  At  her  ap 
proach,  he  arose  and  held  out  a  morocco  case,  contain 
ing  the  miniature  of  a  child  —  a  bright-eyed,  delicate- 
featured  girl  of  seven  or  eight  summers  —  exquisitely 
painted. 

"  You  have  never  seen  my  little  Florence,  I  think  ?  " 

"I  have  not  She  is  pretty  —  and  resembles  you 
strongly." 

He  did  not  color  or  laugh  at  the  unconscious  com 
pliment,  or  seem  pleased  at  her  praise  of  his  darling. 
Instead,  there  crept  over  his  face  a  shade  of  more 
painful  sadness,  darkening  his  eyes  and  compressing 
his  lip,  as  he  answered  — 

"  So  every  one  says.  She  is  the  dearest  child  in  the 
world  —  a  sunbeam  of  gladness  in  any  house  —  amia 
ble,  affectionate,  and  intelligent.  I  wish  you  would 
read  her  last  letter  to  me.  She  is  a  better  correspon 
dent  than  many  grown  people."  Then,  smiling,  apolo 
getically,  "If  my  commendation  seem  overstrained, 
you  will  excuse  a  father's  partiality." 

The  letter  —  although  the  unformed  chirograph/ 
betrayed  the  writer's  inexperience  in  pen-practice  — 
was  correctly  spelled  and  easy  hi  style,  crowded  witn 
loving  messages  to  "  dear  papa  and  mainma ; "  relating 


TSS  HOB&BT  HOU&  997 

anecdotes  of  school  and  home  life,  and  wnile  e  rpresa- 
ive  of  her  longings  for  her  parents'  return,  professing 
willingness  to  stay  where  she  was  "until  mamma 
should  be  well  enongh  to  come  back." 

"  I  pray  every  night  that  God  will  cure  her,  and 
make  us  all  happy  again,"  she  wrote.  "  I  dreamed  one 
night  last  week  that  I  saw  her  dressed  for  a  party,  all 
rosy  and  funny  and  laughing,  as  she  used  to  be,  and 
that  she  kissed  me,  and  put  her  arm  around  me,  and 
called  me  '  baby  Florence'  and  '  little  one,'  in  her  sweet 
voice.  Wasn't  it  strange  ?  I  awoke  myself  crying,  I 
was  so  happy  !  I  do  try  to  be  brave,  and  not  fret  about 
what  cannot  be  helped,  papa,  because  I  promised  you 
I  would  ;  but  sometimes  it  is  right  hard  work.  It  is 
always  easier  for  a  whole  day  after  I  get  one  of  your 
nice,  long  letters.  It  is  not  quite  as  good  as  having 
real  talk  with  you,  but  it  is  the  best  treat  I  can  haye 
when  you  are  away." 

Mrs.  Sutton  wiped  her  eyes. 

:t  The  dear  child  I  "  she  said,  in  the  subdued  toner 
habitual  to  the  frequenters  of  the  sick-room.  "No 
wonder  you  want  to  see  herl  Why  didn't  you  give 
her  a  holiday,  and  bring  her  to  Virginia  with  you  ?  " 

tt  I  dreaded  the  effect  of  a  child's  high  animal  spint» 
and  thoughtless  bustle  upon  her  mother's  health"  —  • 
the  shadow  thickening  into  trouble.  "  The  next  oest 
thing  to  having  her  with  me  is  to  know  that  she  ifl 
and  lovingly  looked  after  by  my  married  siater, 


ia* 


298  TBS  HONEST  HOVB. 

of  whom  she  is  very  fond.  Florence  is  merrier,  Jf  net 
mlwaye  happier,  with  her  young  cousins  than  if  she 
were  condemned  to  the  repression  and  joyless  routine 
of  a  house  where  the  care  of  the  sick  is  the  most  en 
grossing  business  to  all." 

The  more  Mrs.  Sutton  meditated  upon  this  conversa 
tion,  the  more  enigmatical  it  appeared  that  the  mother 
never  spoke  of  missing  her  only  living  child  —  never 
pined  for  the  sound  of  her  vivacious  talk  and  the  sight 
of  her  winning  ways.  Curiosity  —  her  strong  love  f 01 
All  children,  and  a  lively  interest  in  Florence  and 
Florence's  father,  the  two  who  assuredly  did  feel  the 
reparation  —  got  the  ascendency  over  discretion  that 
night,  when  Rosa,  too  nervous  to  sleep,  begged  her  to 
talk,  "  to  scare  away  the  horrors  miat  were  sitting,  a 
blue-black  brood,  upon  her  pillow." 

"  Your  little  daughter  would  be  an  endless  source  of 
entertainment  to  you  if  she  were  here,"  said  downright 
Aunt  Eachel,  with  no  show  of  circumlocution.  "  I  am 
surprised  you  do  not  send  for  her." 

"Children  of  that  age  are  a  nuisance  I"  returned 
&osa,  peevishly.  "  And  of  all  tiresome  ones  that  I  ever 
saw,  Florence  is  the  most  trying.  She  doesn't  talk 
after  I  bid  her  hold  her  tongue,  but  her  big,  solemn 
eyes  see  and  her  ears  hear  all  that  passes.  If  there  ia 
one  thing  that  pushes  me  nearer  to  the  verge  of  dia- 
traction  than  another  it  is  to  have  my  own  wordi 
quoted  to  me  when  I  have  forgotten  that  I  ever  uttered 


THE  HOAtfS?  HOUR  299 

them.  And  she  —  literal  little  bore  I  —  is  always  pre 
tending  to  take  all  that  I  say  in  earnest.  If  I  were  to 
tell  her  to  go  to  Guinea,  it  is  my  belief  she  wonld  put 
on  her  bonnet,  cloak,  and  gloves,  pocket  a  biscuit  for 
luncheon  and  a  story-book  to  reaa  by  the  way,  and  set 
out  forthwith,  asking  the  first  decent-looking  man  she 
met  in  the  street  at  what  wharf  she  would  find  a  vesse. 
bound  for  Africa." 

Mrs.  Sutton  was  obliged  to  laugh. 

"  She  must  be  a  truthful,  sincere  little  thing ! " 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you  she  is  too  outrageously  literal  and 
unimaginative  f  Just  let  me  give  you  an  example  of 
aow  she  tires  and  vexes  me.  One  day,  about  a  fort 
night  before  I  left  home,  she  set  her  heart  upon  spend 
ing  the  whole  of  Saturday  afternoon  with  me.  Her 
father  objected,  for  he  understands,  if  he  does  not 
sympathise  with  me,  what  a  trial  she  is  to  flesh  and 
spirit.  But  I  was  moderately  comfortable,  and  my 
nerves  were  less  unruly  than  wraal,  so  I  said  we  would 
try  and  get  on  together. 

"  No  sooner  had  he  gone  than  the  catechism  com 
menced : 

"  *  Now,  maTyim^  what  can  I  do  to  amuse  you  1 9 

"  She  talks  like  a  woman  of  fifty. 

u  <  What  should  you  propose  if  I  were  to  leave  it  tt 
jrouf  I  asked. 

" '  I  suppose,'  said  my  Lady  Citabort, '  that  it  would 


800  TUB  HONB8T  SOUS. 

excite  you  too  much  to  talk,  so  I  had  betier  read  aloud. 
What  book  do  yon  prefer! ' 

"I  named  one — a  novel  I  had  not  finished — and 
resigned  myself  to  martyrdom.  She  reads  fluently  — 
her  father  says  prettily ;  but  the  piping  voice  rasped 
my  auriculars  to  the  quick,  and  I  soon  stopped  the  ex 
hibition.  Then  we  essayed  conversation,  but  our  range 
of  themes  was  limited,  and  a  dismal  silence  succeedea 
to  a  short  dialogue.  By  and  by  I  told  her  that  I  was 
sleepy,  hoping  she  would  take  the  hint  and  leave  my 
room. 

" '  Then,  mamma,  I  will  just  get  my  work-basket, 
and  sit  here,  as  still  as  a  mouse,  and  prevent  all  dis 
turbance.' 

"  With  that,  she  gets  out  her  miniature  thimble  and 
scissors,  and  falls  to  work  upon  a  paii  of  slippers  she 
was  embroidering  for  her  father's  birthday  present, 
sitting  up,  starched  and  prim  as  an  old  maid,  her  lips 
pursed,  and  her  forehead  gravely  consequential.  1 
couJd  not  close  my  eyes  without  seeing  her  still,  like 
an  undersized  nightmare,  her  hair  smooth  to  the  least 
hair,  her  dress  neat  to  the  smallest  fold,  stitching, 
stitching,  the  affected,  conceited  marmoset  t 

"At  last  I  said: 

" '  Put  down  your  sewing,  Florence,  and  look  out  of 
the  window  at  the  people  going  by.  You  must  be  very 
tired.' 

*  •  Not  in  the  least,  mamma,  dear,'  answered  Miss 


TBS  HONSST  HOUJBL,  801 

Pert    'I  like  to  work,  and  there  is  nothing  interesting 
going  on  outside.' 

"  1  tossed  and  sighed,  and  she  was  by  me  in  a  sec 
ond. 

"  *  Darling  mamma  1  my  poor,  sweet  little  mother !  * 
in  her  reed-like  chirp ;  '  can  I  do  nothing  to  make  you 
feel  better?'  putting  her  hands  upon  my  head  and 
stroking  my  face  until  my  flesh  crawled. 

" '  Yes,'  said  I,  out  of  all  patience.  *  Take  yourself 
off,  and  don't  let  me  see  you  again  until  to-morrow 
morning !  You  kill  me  with  your  teasing.' 

;<  And  would  you  believe  it  ?  she  just  put  up  her 
sewing  in  the  basket  and  went  directly  out,  without  a 
tear  or  a  murmur,  and  when  her  father  came  home  he 
could  not  prevail  upon  her,  by  commands  or  persua 
sions,  to  accompany  him  further  than  the  door  of  m> 
chamber.  So  he,  who  won't  admit  that  she  can  do  any 
thing  wrong,  instead  of  whipping  her  for  her  obstinacy, 
as  he  ought  to  have  done,  guessed  she  '  had  some  rea 
son  '  for  her  disobedience  which  she  did  not  like  to 
tell,  and  interrogated  poor,  persecuted  me.  When  he 
had  heard  my  version  of  the  manner  in  which  we  had 
•pent  the  afternoon,  he  only  said, '  I  should  have  fore 
seen  this.  But  the  child  —  she  is  only  a  child,  Rosa ! 
—  did  her  best!'  and  he  looked  so  mournful  that  I, 
knowing  he  blamed  me  for  his  bantling's  freak  cf  tern 
per,  told  him  plainly  that  he  cared  a  thousand  tunes 
more  for  this  diminutive  bundle  of  hypocrisy  Jhan  hit 


302  TS2B  HONStSl  HOI'S. 

ever  did  for  me,  and  that  his  absurd  fa  rorifosiL 
fast  begetting  in  me  a  positive  dislike  for  her.  1 
couldn't  endure  the  sight  of  the  sulky  little  mischief- 
maker  for  a  week  after  her  complaint  of  barbarity  had 
brought  the  look  into  his  face  I  knew  so  well." 

"  O  Kosa,  she  is  your  own  flesh  and  blood  I  and,  ai 
her  father  said,  a  mere  baby  yet !  You  said,  too,  that 
she  refused  to  assign  any  cause  to  him  for  her  singular 
conduct." 

"  She  might  better  have  made  open  outcry  than  have 
left  upon  his  mind  the  impression  that  I  had  banished 
her  cruelly  and  unnecessarily.  But  I  despair  of  giv 
ing  you  an  idea  of  how  provoking  she  can  be.  She  la 
a  Chilton,  through  and  through,  in  feature,  manner, 
and  disposition  —  one  of  those* goody'  children,  you 
know !  a  class  of  animals  that  are  simply  intolerable  to 
me.  She  is  too  precocious  and  unbaby-like  to  be  in 
the  least  interesting.  You  should  have  seen  my  little 
Violet  to  understand  what  a  constant  disappointment 
Florence  is.  She  was  myself  in  miniature,  and  more 
over  the  most  witching,  prankish,  peppery  elf  that  was 
ever  made.  The  best  trait  in  Florence's  character  was 
her  love  for  her  baby-sister.  She  gave  up  everything 
to  her  while  she  was  alive,  and  they  told  me  that  she 
would  not  eat,  and  scarcely  slept,  for  days  after  her 
death.  Her  father  will  have  it  that  she  is  singularly 
sensitive,  and  has  marvellous  depths  of  feeling ;  but  if 
this  be  so,  it  IB  queer  I  never  found  it  out  Nobody 


THE  HONJSST  JSOUB. 


eoiud  help  adoring  Violet  —  my  sweet,  lost,  beautiful 
angel  !  » 

The  hysterical  sobs  were  pumping  np  the  tears  new 
in  hot  torrents,  and  these  Mrs.  Sutton  was  fain  to  as 
suage  by  loving  arts  she  would  not  —  but  for  the  dan 
ger  of  allowing  them  to  flow  —  have  been  in  the  tem 
per  to  employ,  so  full  was  her  heart  of  yearning  pity 
for  the  hardly-used  babe,  and  displeasure  at  the 
mother's  weak  selfishness.  It  was  easier  to  forgive 
and  forget  Rosa's  sins  ;  to  lessen,  in  the  retrospect,  her 
worst  faults  into  foibles,  than  it  would  have  been  to 
overlook  the  more  venal  failings  of  one  less  mercurial, 
and  whose  personal  fascinations  did  not  equal  hers. 

Ere  the  close  of  another  day,  Mrs.  Sutton  had  ex 
cused  her  unnatural  insensibility  to  her  child's  virtues 
And  affection,  by  representing  to  herself  how  fearfully 
disease  had  warped  judgment  and  perception;  had 
sast  over  the  enormities  she  could  not  palliate  the  pall 
of  solemn  remembrance  of  the  truth  that  death's  dark 
door  was  already  as  surely  shut  between  mother  and 
daughter,  as  if  the  grave  held  the  former.    A  week  of 
cliill  March  rains  and  wind  was  disastrous  to  the  pa 
tient,  who  had  seemed  to  draw  her  main  supplies  of 
Btrength  from  the  sunshine  admitted  freely  to  her 
room,  with  the  spring  air,  redolent  with  the  delicious 
odors  of  the  freshly-turned  earth,  the  budding  trees 
and  early  blossoms  from  the  garden  heneath  her  win 
dowa.    She  shrank  and  shivered  under  the  ungenia 


&04  1OT  HONX8T  HOWBL 


iky,  while  the  drizzling  mist  soaked  life  and  aniir*» 
toon  out  of  the  fragile  body.  Occasional  fits  of  de 
lirium,  increased  difficulty  of  breathing,  and  a  steady 
declrae  of  the  slender  remains  of  vital  force,  warned 
her  attendants  that  their  care  would  not  be  required 
much  longer.  She  was  still  obstinate  in  her  disbelief 
of  the  grave  nature  of  her  malady.  The  most  distant 
reference  to  her  decease  would  arouse  her  to  angry 
refutation  of  the  hinted  doubt  of  her  recovery,  ai>«* 
excited  her  to  offer  proof  of  her  declaration  that  she 
was  less  ill  than  others  supposed  ;  she  would  summon 
up  a  poor  counterfeit  of  energy  and  mirth,  more  ghastly 
than  her  previous  lassitude  ;  deny  that  she  suffered 
from  any  cause,  save  the  unfailing  nervous  depression 
consequent  upon  the  unfavorable  weather. 

Then  came  a  day  on  which  the  sun  looked  forth 
with  augmented  splendor  from  his  sombrely  curtained 
pavilion  ;  when  the  naked  branches  of  the  deciduous 
trees,  the  serried  lances  of  the  evergreens,  and  the 
broad  leaves  of  the  tent-like  magnolias  —  the  pride  of 
the  Tazewell  place  —  shone  as  from  a  bath  of  molten 
silver.  The  battered  flowers  ventured  into  later  and 
healthier  bloom,  and  a  robin,  swinging  upon  the  lilao 
§pray  nearest  Rosa's  window,  sang  blithe  greeting  to 
the  reinstated  spring. 

Rosa  heard  him  —  opened  her  eyes,  and  smiled. 

"  One  —  maybe  the  very  same  —  used  to  sing  there 
overy  morning  when  1  was  a  girl  —  used  to  awake  ma 


TOM  EONS8T  HOUJL  805 

from  my  second  nap.  I  oould  sleep  all  night  then, 
and  never  dream  once  1 " 

A  messenger  had  been  sent,  at  daybreak,  for  her  sis* 
ters  and  brother,  who  resided  several  miles  away,  but 
as  yet  Mrs.  Button  and  Frederic  were  her  only  nurses, 
She  had  dozed  almost  constantly  during  the  night,  and 
been  delirious  when  awakened  to  take  nourishment  or 
tonics,  muttering  senseless  and  disconnected  words, 
and  moaning  in  pain,  the  location  and  nature  of  which 
she  could  not  describe  to  the  solicitous  watchers. 

"  I  remember  that  Mabel  and  I,"  she  continued, 
dreamily,  after  a  long  pause  —  then  correcting  herself, 
"I  ask  your  pardon,  Frederic!  I  said  I  wouldn't 
speak  of  her  ever  again  to  you,  but  we  were  so  much 
together  in  those  days.  Moreover,  it  has  troubled  me 
at  times,  that  you  did  not  know  who  your  real  friends 
were,  and  she  did  like  you  —  and  —  and  —  what  am  I 
saying !  You  shouldn't  let  me  run  on  so ! " 

She  raised  her  hand  with  difficulty,  and  tried  to 
wipe  away  the  film  gathering  over  her  dilated  eyes. 

"  Never  mind,  my  darling !  Do  not  attempt  to  talk  1 
You  are  too  weak  and  tired  I "  said  her  husband,  ten 
derly. 

"Tired!"  catching  at  the  word.  "That  is  it! 
There  is  nothing  else  the  matter,  whatever  Dr.  Kitchie 
and  the  rest  of  them  may  say.  Tired !  for  how  many 
years  I  have  been  that!  It  seems  like  a  thousand. 
This  world  is  a  tiresome  place  to  most  people,  I  think 


306  TBS  HOJSTE8T  30VR 

I  Ehall  never  forget  how  jaded  Mabel  looked  tl&t 
week,"  breaking  off,  as  before,  with  a  frightened  start, 
such  as  a  dreamer  gives  when  he  fancies  he  is  falling 
from  an  immeasurable  height.  "  Indeed,  Fred,  dear  I  * 
feeling  for  his  hand  upon  the  coverlet,  "  I  did  not 
mean  to  wound  or  offend  you.  It  was  a  terrible  ordeal 
for  you,  my  Isve !  But  you  came  out  of  it  as  silve* 
seven  times  refined-  That  is  what  the  text  says  —  isn'1 
it!  And  you  and  Aunt  Rachel  are  friends  once 
more!  That  is  one  good  deed  I  have  done.  I  hope  it 
will  be  recorded  up  there  !  Heaven  knows  there  are 
not  so  many  that  I  can  afford  to  have  one  overlooked ! " 

Another  season  of  dozing,  and  she  awoke,  rubbing 
her  hands  feebly  together,  as  to  cleanse  them. 

"My  hands  ought  to  be  whiter — purer  I  I  know 
what  ails  them.  I  should  have  picked  up  the  letter 
she  —  Mrs.  Button — wrote  you.  But  I  loved  you 
so — even  then!"  beseechingly.  "  You  will  not  hate 
me  when  I  am  gone  !  I  mean  when  you  get  back  to 
Philadelphia,  and  I  am  well  enough  to  be  left  here. 
I  was  sure,  if  you  got  it,  you  would  come  to  Ridgeley, 
and  I  let  it  go  down  the  stream  —  down  —  down! 
Frederic!" 

"  I  am  here,  dearest ! "  slipping  his  arm  under,  and 
raising  her,  as  her  shrill  «ry  rang  out,  and  she  grasped 
the  empty  air.  "  Rosa,  my  wife  !  " 

"  I  thought  I  was  strangling  —  in  the  water !  I  an) 
four  wife -T- am  I  not!  She  couldn't  take  you  front* 


TBS  HONBST  BOWEL 


me  if  she  were  here.  I  vreh  she  were  I  1  alwaji 
liked  MaleL  She  was  a  good,  true  woman  —  but  she 
did  not  love  you  as  I  did  I  " 

Panting  for  breath,  she  leaned  upon  her  husbandji 
breast,  and  her  eyelids  fell  together  again.  Only  for 
a  moment  I  Then  a  smile  —  fond,  sweet,  and  peni 
tent  —  played  among  the  ashy  shadows  encircling  her 
mouth.  "Poor  little  Florence!  I  am  sorry  I  was 
cross  to  her.  Tell  her  so,  papal"  Her  husband 
stooped  to  kiss  her,  laid  her  back  upon  the  pillows 
closed  the  sightless  eyes,  and  left  Mrs.  Button  alon* 
with  the  dead. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

AFFIX  JTUri'KKN   TRASS. 

[LD  Mrs.  Tazewell  has  departed  this  life  at  bwtf* 
said  Winston  Aylett,  entering  his  own  parlci 
one  bleak  November  evening  on  his  return  from 
the  village  post-office.  "  I  met  AL  Branch  on  the 
road  just  now.  For  a  wonder  he  was  sober — in  honor 
of  the  occasion,  I  suppose.  He  and  Gus.  Tabb  are  to 
git  up  with  the  corpse  to-night." 

u  When  did  she  die  t "  queried  his  wife,  drawing  her 
skirts  aside,  that  he  might  get  nearei  the  fire. 

"At  twelve  o'clock  to-day.  That  is,  she  ceased 
the  unprofitable  business  of  respiration  at  tb*t  hour. 
She  died,  virtually,  five  years  ago.  She  has  been  little 
better  than  a  mummy  for  that  period." 

"  Poor  old  lady ! "  said  Mabel  Dorrance,  regretfully, 
from  her  corner  of  the  hearth.  "Hers  wa«  a  kind 
heart,  while  she  could  think  and  act  intelligently. 
One  of  ray  earliest  recollections  is  of  the  dainties  with 
which  she  used  to  ply  me  when  I  visited  Kosa.  She 
was  an  indulgent  parent  and  mistress,  yet  I  suppose  few 
(K*) 


AJFTMB  FIFTEEN  TJSAS& 
even  of  those  moat  nearly  related  to  her  will  mourn  he* 


"It  would  be  very  foolMi  if  they  did!"  Mr.  Aylett 
picked  up  the  tongs  to  mend  the  fire.  "  And  very  on- 
natural  did  they  not  rejoin  at  being  rid  of  a  burden. 
The  old  place  has  been  going  to  destruction  all  these 
years,  and  it  could  not  be  sold  while  she  cumbered  the 
upper  earth." 

No  one  replied  directly  to  this  delicate  and  f  eeling 
observation,  and  Mrs.  Aylett  presently  diverted  th« 
Conversation  slightly  by  saying,  — 

"  And  Alfred  Branch  has  gone  to  tender  his  service! 
to  the  family  I  There  is  something  romantic  in  his  con 
ttaney  to  a  memory.  From  the  day  01  Eosa's  death, 
he  has  embraced  every  chance  of  testifying  his  respecl 
tor  and  wish  to  serve  her  friends.  He  is  a  saddei 
wrecK  than  was  Mrs.  TazewelL  You  would  hardly 
recognize  him,  MabeL  His  hair  and  beard  are  whit* 
as  those  <  £  a  man  of  sixty-five,  and  his  face  bloated  oul 
of  <dl  comeliness." 

"White  heat!"  interjected  Mr.  Aylett.  "He  can 
not  last  much  longer." 

"And  all  because  *  pretty  girl  said  him  'Nay!'* 
pursued  the  wife. 

Mr.  Aylett  and  Mr.  Dorrance  made  characteristic 
responses  in  a  breath, 

"  Th*  greater  blockhead  he  !  "  said  one. 

The  rther,"  His  was  never*  rightly  'danced 


BIO  AffTMS  FIFTEEN  TSAS& 

I  suspect    I  always  thought  him  weak  and  imprest 
ble." 

"  Are  your  adjectives  synonymous  ? "  asked  Mrs,  Ay 
lett  playfully. 

"Generally!" 

Her  brother  had  been  reading  at  a  distant  window, 
while  the  daylight  sufficed  to  show  hi™  the  type  of  his 
book  He  now  laid  it  by,  and  came  forward  intc  the 
redder  circle  of  radiance  cast  by  the  burning  logs. 
He  was  in  his  forty-third  year,  saturnine  of  visage, 
coldly  monotonous  in  accent,  a  business  machine  that 
did  its  work  in  good,  substantial  style,  and  undertook  no 
u  fancy  jobs."  He  had  amassed  a  handsome  fortune, 
built  a  handsome  house,  and  married  *  handsome  wo 
man,  all  of  which  appendages  to  hi*  consequence  he 
contemplated  with  grim  complacency.  As  regarded 
spiritual  likeness,  mutual  affection,  ancl  assimilation  of 
feeling  and  opinion,  he  and  his  wife  jbed  receded,  the 
one  from  the  other,  in  the  fourteen  years  of  their 
wedded  life.  There  had  been  no  Decided  rupture. 
Both  disliked  altercations,  and  where  imdical  opposition 
of  sentiment  existed,  they  avoided  the  unsafe  ground 
by  tacit  consent.  Mabel's  uniform  policy  was  that 
cf  outward  submission  to  the  mandates  of  her  chie£ 

u  After  all,  it  makes  little  difference ! "  she  fell  into 
the  habit  of  saying  in  the  earlier  years  of  matronhood, 
and  he  interpreted  her  listless  acquiescence  in  hi*  de 
cree*  as  faith  in  the  soundness  of  his  judgment, 


AFTER  FIFTEEN  TSAS&  311 

die  infallibility  of  his  decisions.  No  woman  of  sense 
and  spirit  ever  becomes  an  exemplar  in  unquestioning 
obedience  to  a  mortal  man,  unless  through  apathy  — 
fatal  torpor  of  mind  or  heart  Of  this  fact  in  moral 
history  our  respectable  barrister  was  happily  ignorant 
He  was  no  better  versed  in  the  lore  of  the  heart  femi 
nine  than  when  he  accepted  Mabel  Aylett's  esteem  and 
friendly  regard  in  lieu  of  the  shy,  but  ardent  attach 
ment  a  betrothed  maiden  should  have  for  the  one  she 
means  to  make  her  husband. 

He  respected  her  thoroughly,  and  loved  her  better 
than  he  did  anybody  else.  She  was  the  one  woman  he 
recognized  as  his  sister's  superior — supremacy  due  to 
the  influence  of  single-minded  integrity  and  modest 
dignity.  What  Mabel  said,  he  believed  without  gainsay 
ing ;  while  Clara's  clever  dicta  required  winnowing  tc 
separate  the  probably  spurious  from  the  possibly  true. 
If  his  t/>ne,  ^  addressing  his  wife,  was  seldom  affec 
tionate,  it  was  never  careless,  as  that  which  replied  to 
his  sister's  raillery. 

"Generally,"  he  said  in  Ms  metallic,  unmodulated 
voice.  "  The  man  who  would  cast  away  health,  useful 
ness,  and  fortune  in  his  chagrin  at  not  winning  th« 
hand  of  a  shallow-pated,  volatile  flirt,  must  be  both  aillj 
and  susceptible." 

"  Eosa  Tazewell  may  have  been  shallow  of  heart,  but 
she  was  not  of  pate,"  anawered  Mr.  Aylett,  with  a  cold 
sneei.  u  She  was  a  fair  plotter,  and  \u>t  fickle  of  pro 


AJTTSS  FIFTEEN  TKAJS& 

pose  whai  she  had  her  desires  upon  a  much-cov  ifced 
object  Her  marriage  proved  that  She  meant  to  cap 
tivate  Chilton  before  she  had  known  him  a  month— 
yes,  and  to  marry  \\\rt\J  as  she  finally  did.  Her  inter 
mediate  conquests  were  but  the  practice  that  was  to 
perfect  her  in  her  profession.  Does  anybody  know,  by 
the  way,  if  he  has  ever  taken  a  second  wife  to  his  be 
reaved  bosom?" 

A  brief  silence,  then  Mrs.  Aylett  said,  negligently, 
1 1  think  not  Mrs.  Trent,  Rosa's  sister,  was  expatiating 
to  me  a  month  since  upon  the  beauty  and  accomplish 
ments  of  his  daughter,  and  she  said  nothing  of  a  step 
mother.  Father  and  child  live  with  a  married  sister 
of  Mrs.  Chilton,  I  believe." 

"  I  had  not  heard  that  Rosa  left  a  child,"  remarked 
Mabel,  interested.  "  I  understood  that  two  died  before 
the  mother." 

"  Only  one  —  and  that  the  younger.  Miss  Florence 
is  now  twelve  years  old,  Mrs.  Trent  says.  I  saw  her  at 
church  once,  when  she  was  visiting  her  grandmother 
and  aunts.  She  is  really  passable — Irt  very  unlike 
her  mother." 

Mabel  did  not  join  in  the  desultory  talk  that  engaged 
the  others  until  supper-time.  There  was  a  broken 
string  in  her  heart,  that  jangled  painfully  when  touched 
by  an  incautious  hand. 

"Twelve  years  old  I"  she  was  saying,  inwardly 
*  My  darling  would  have  been  thirteen,  had  she  lived  t  * 


AJPTKB  PIFTEKff  TSAJS&  S18 

And  then  flitted  before  her  fancy  a  girlish  f  arm, 
with  pure,  loving  eyes,  and  a  voice  melodious  as  a 
mocking-bird's.  Warm  arms  were  abont  her  neck,  and 
a  round,  soft  cheek  laid  against  hers  —  as  no  human 
arms  and  face  would  ever  caress  her — her,  the  child 
less,  whose  had  been  the  hopes,  fears,  pains — never 
the  recompence  of  maternity. 

She  had  been  to  the  graveyard  that  day  —  secretly, 
lest  her  husband  should  frown,  Clara  wonder,  and  Win 
ston  sneer  at  her  love  for  and  memory  of  that  which  had 
*ever  existed,  according  to  their  rendering  of  the  term. 
She  had  trimmed  the  wire-grass  out  of  the  little  hollow, 
above  which  the  mound  had  not  been  renewed  since  the 
day  of  her  baby's  burial,  and,  trusting  to  the  infre- 
quency  of  others'  visits  to  the  neglected  enclosure,  had 
laid  a  bunch  of  white  rose-buds  over  the  unmarked 
lust  she  accounted  still  a  part  of  her  heart,  'neath 
Arhich  it  had  lain  so  long.  People  said  she  had  never 
teen  a  mother ;  never  had  had  a  living  child ;  had  no 
hope  of  seeing  it  in  heaven.  God  and  she  knew 
better. 

"  Clara,  I  wish  you  to  attend  Mrs.  Tazewell's  funeral 
thte  afternoon,"  said  Mr.  Aylett  at  breakfast  the  next 
day  but  one  after  this.  "  There  were  invidious  remarks 
made  upon  your  non-appearance  at  her  daughter's,  and 
I  do  not  choose  that  my  family  shall  furnish  food  fat 
neighborhood  scandal " 
14 


814  AFTSB  VIPTXBJy  YBAB& 

"  My  dear  Winston,  yon  must  recollect  what  an  in 
gufferable  headache  I  had  that  day." 

"  Don't  have  one  to-day,"  ordered  her  husband  lacoB 
ically.    "  Mabel,  do  yon  care  to  go  ? " 

"  By  all  means.  I  would  not  fail,  even  m  seeming, 
in  rendering  respect  to  one  I  used  to  like  so  much,  and 
whose  kindness  to  me  was  unvarying.  You  have  no 
objection,  Herbert  ? " 

"None.  I  may  accompany  you  —  the  day  being 
fine,  and  the  roads  in  tolerable  order." 

The  funeral  was  conducted  with  the  disregard  of 
what  are,  in  other  regions,  established  customs  that  dis 
tinguish  such  occasions  in  the  rural  districts  of  Vir 
ginia. 

Written  notices  had  been  sent  out,  far  and  near,  the 
day  before,  announcing  that  the  services  would  begin 
at  two  o'clock,  but  when  the  Aylett  party  arrived  at  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  before  the  time  specified,  there  was 
no  appearance  of  regular  exercises  of  any  kind.  A 
dozen  carriges  besides  theirs  were  clustered  about  the 
front  gate,  and  a  long  line  of  saddle-horses  tethered  to 
the  fence.  Knots  of  gentlemen  in  riding  costume 
dotted  the  lawn  and  porches,  and  within-doors  ladiefi 
•at,  or  walked  at  their  ease  in  the  parlor  and  dinmg 
room,  or  gathered  in  silent  tearfulness  around  the  open 
coffin  in  the  wide  central  hall 

The  bed-room  of  the  deceased  was  a  roomy  apart 


AFTMR  FIFTEEN  YBAB&  511 

*nent  in  a  wing  of  the  building,  and  to  th  a  Mabel  was 
summon  ad  before  she  could  seat  herself  elsewhere. 

"  Miss  Mary's  compliments  and  love,  ma'ain ;  and  she 
lays  won't  you  please  step  in  thar,  and  set  with  Mistis* 
friends  and  relations  ? "  was  the  audible  message  deliv 
ered  to  her  by  Mrs.  Trent's  spry  waiting-maid. 

Herbert  looked  dubious,  and  Mrs.  Aylett  enlarged 
ner  fine  eyes  in  a  manner  that  might  mean  either  su 
percilioiisness  or  well-bred  amazement.  But  Mabel 
was  neither  surprised  nor  doubtful  as  to  the  proper 
course  for  her  to  pursue.  Time  was  when  she  was  as 
much  at  home  here  as  Rosa  herself,  and  Mrs.  TazewelFs 
partiality  for  her  was  shared  by  others  of  the  family. 
That  she  had  met  none  of  them  in  ten  or  twelve  years, 
did  not  at  a  season  like  the  present  dampen  their  affec 
tion.  They  would  rather  on  this  account  seize  upon  the 
opportunity  of  honoring  publicly  their  mother's  old 
favorite. 

The  chamber  was  less  light  than  the  hall  she  traversed 
to  reach  it. 

She  recognized  Mary  Trent,  the  daughter  next  in 
age  to  Rosa,  who  fell  upon  her  neck  in  a  sobbing  em 
brace,  then  the  other  sisters  and  their  brother,  Morton 
Tazewell,  with  his  wife,  and  was  formally  presented  to 
their  children. 

Finally  she  turned  inquiringly  toward  a  gentleman 
who  stood  against  the  window  opposite  the  door,  with 
*  little  girl  beside  Mm. 


AJmeS  PIFTSSN  TRASS. 

Confused  beyond  measure,  as  the  hithertc  cnthought- 
of  consequences  of  her  impulsive  action  in  sending  £ at 
her  friend  rushed  upon  her  mind,  Mrs.  Trent  talterea 
out: 

"I  forgot  I  You  must  excuse  me,  but  I  was  •» 
anxious  to  see  you.  My  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Chilton. 
He  arrived  yesterday  —  not  having  heard  of  mother's 
death." 

And  for  the  first  time  since  they  looked  their  pas- 
fcionate  farewell  into  each  other's  eyes  under  the  rose- 
arch  of  the  portico  at  Ridgeley,  on  that  rainy  summer 
morning,  the  two  who  had  been  lovers  again  touched 
hands. 

"  I  hope  you  are  quite  well,  Mr.  Chilton,"  said  Ma 
bel's  firm,  gentle  voice.  "Is  this  your  daughter?* 
kissing  the  serious-faced  child  on  the  forehead,  and 
looking  intently  into  her  eyes  in  the  hope  of  discovering 
a  resemblance  to  her  mother. 

Then  she  went  back  to  a  chair  next  to  Mrs.  Trent's, 
and  began  to  talk  softly  of  the  event  that  had  called 
them  together,  not  glancing  again  at  the  window  until 
the  outer  hall  was  stilled,  that  the  clergyman  might 
begin  the  funeral  prayer. 

u  The  services  will  be  concluded  at  the  grave,"  WM 
the  announcement  that  succeeded  the  sermon ;  and  there 
followed  the  shuffling  of  the  bearers'  feet,  and  their 
measured  tramp  across  the  floor  and  down  the  steps  of 
the  back  porch. 


AFTER  PIFTB3EN  TRAS&  817 


TLe  daughters  and  daughter-in-law  let  fall  their 
and  pulled  on  their  gloves,  and  Herbert  Dorrance 
beckoned  somewhat  impatiently  to  his  wife  from  the 
parlor  door.  While  she  was  on  her  way  to  join  him, 
she  saw  his  complexion  vary  to  a  greenish  sallow,  hi* 
mouth  work  spasmodically,  and  his  eyes  sink  in  anger 
or  dismay. 

Winston  Aylett  likewise  noted  and  knew  it,  for  the 
same  look  of  abject  terror  he  had  observed  upon  th« 
hard  Scotch  face  when  Mabel  enumerated  upon  he* 
fingers  those  she  accused  of  having  robbed  her  of  he* 
babe. 

The  wife  attributed  it  to  displeasure  at  seeing  Fred 
eric  Chilton  among  the  mourners.  Her  whilom 
guardian,  never  charitable  overmuch,  inclined  the 
more  to  the  belief  begotten  within  him  by  other  inci 
dents,  to  wit  :  that  his  brother-in-law's  talk  was  more 
doughty  than  his  deeds,  and  his  real  sentiment  upon 
beholding  the  man  he  boasted  of  having  flogged  as  a 
libertine  and  coward,  was  physical  dread  for  his  own 
safety.  Watchful  alike  of  the  other  party  to  the  an 
cient  quarrel,  he  was  rewarded  by  the  sight  of  Chilton's 
irrepressible  start  and  frown,  when  Mabel  put  her 
hand  within  her  husband's  arm,  and  stood  awaiting  the 
formation  of  the  procession.  The  discarded  lover 
gazed  steadfastly  into  Dorrance's  countenance  in  pan- 
ing  to  his  place,  in  recognition  that  scouted  asaiiailwitj' 


318  AFTER  WDfTESN  YBABO* 

with  salutation,  but  his  eye  did  net  waver  or  his  ooloi 
fade. 

"  I  would  not  be  afraid  to  wager  that  this  ie  but 
another  version  of  the  fable  of  the  statue  of  the  man 
rampart  and  the  lion  couchant,"  thought  Mr.  Aylett, 
following  with  his  wife  in  the  funeral  train  down  the 
grass-grown  alley  leading  through  the  garden  to  the 
family  burying-ground.  "  It  would  be  an  entertaining 
study  of  human  veracity  if  I  could  hear  Chilton's  story, 
and  compare  the  two.  He  is  either  an  audacious  ras 
cal,  or  there  is  something  back  of  all  that  I  have  heard 
which  will  not  bear  the  light." 

It  was  not  remorse  at  the  thought  of  the  total  altera 
tion  in  his  sister's  life  and  feelings  that  had  grown  out 
of  this  imperfect  or  false  evidence,  but  simple  curiosity 
to  inspect  the  lineaments  and  note  the  actions  of  the 
aool  rascal  whose  audacity  commanded  his  admiration, 
and  note  his  bearing  in  the  event  of  his  coming  into 
closer  contact  with  his  former  foe,  that  prompted  him 
to  single  him  out  for  scrutiny  among  those  whose  rela 
tionship  to  the  deceased  secured  them  places  nearest 
the  grave. 

For  a  time  the  widower  was  gravely  quiet,  holding 
his  child's  hand  and  looking  down  steadfastly  into  the 
pit  at  his  feet,  perhaps  remembering  more  vividly  thar 
anything  else  a  certain  sunny  day  in  March,  many 
years  back,  when  another  fissure  yawned  close  by, 
where  now  &  green  mound  —  the  ridged  acar  with 


AFTR&  FIFTEEN  TEAMS.  819 

which  the  earth  had  closed  the  wound  in  her  jreast  — 
and  a  stately  shaft  of  white  marble  were  all  that  re 
mained  to  the  world  of  "  Rosa,  wife  of  Frederic  Chil 
ton."  But,  while  the  mould  was  being  heaped  upoB 
the  coffin,  he  raised  his  eyes,  and  let  them  rove  aim 
lessly  over  the  crowd,  neither  avoiding  nor  courting  ob 
servation  —  the  cursory  regard  of  a  man  who  had  nc 
strong  interest  in  any  person  or  group  there.  They 
changed  singularly  in  resting  upon  the  family  from 
iftidgeley.  A  stare  of  stupefaction  gave  place  to  living 
dres  of  angry  suspicion  and  amazement — lurid  flame 
that  testified  its  violence  in  the  reddening  of  cheeka 
•ind  brow,  in  the  dilating  nostril  and  quivering  lips. 
Then  he  passed  his  hand  downward  over  his  features, 
evidently  conscious  of  their  distortion,  and  striving 
after  a  semblance  of  equanimity,  and  looked  again  in 
stern  fixity,  not  at  her  from  whom  he  had  been  parted 
in  the  early  summer  of  his  manhood,  nor  at  his  success 
ful  rival,  nor  yet  at  the  guardian  who  had  offered  him 
gratuitous  insult  in  addition  to  the  injury  of  refusing 
to  permit  his  ward's  marriage  with  a  disgraced  adven 
turer  —  but  at  Mrs.  Aylett,  the  chdtdoMc  of  Eidgeley, 
the  wife  whose  serene  purity  had  never  been  blemishei 
by  a  doubting  breath;  chaste  and  polished  matron  \ 
the  admired  copy  for  younger  and  less  discreet,  but  not 
more  beautiful  women.  He  surveyed  her  boldly  —  if 
the  imagination  had  not  seeded  preposterous  —  Mr, 
Aylett  would  have  said  scornfully,  as  he  might  study 


520  AFTER  FIFTEEN  TEAS& 

the  face  and  figure  of  some  abandoned  wretch  who  had 
accosted  him  in  the  public  thoroughfare  as  an  acquaint 
anee. 

A  haughty  and  uncontrollable  gesture  from  the  hUA 
band  succeeded  in  diverting  the  offender's  notice  to 
himself  for  one  instant  —  not  more.  But  in  that  flash 
he  detected  a  shade  of  difference  in  the  expression  that 
irked  him ;  a  ray,  that  was  inquiry,  sharp  and  eager, 
tempered  by  compassion,,  yet  still  contemptuous. 

All  this  passed  in  less  time  than  it  has  taken  me  to 
write  a  line  descriptive  of  the  pantomime.  The  mound 
was  shaped,  and  the  decorously  mournful  train  turned 
from  it  to  retrace  their  course  to  the  house,  Frederic 
Chilton  imitating  the  example  of  those  about  him,  but 
moving  like  a  sleep-walker,  his  brows  corrrugated  and 
eyes  sightless  to  all  surrounding  objects.  He  had 
awakened  when  the  Ridgeley  carriage  drove  to  th« 
door.  Mrs.  Sutton  detained  Mabel  in  one  of  the  uppe/ 
chambers  to  concert  plans  for  a  visit  to  the  homestead 
while  the  Dorrances  should  be  there.  Aunt  and  niece 
liad  not  met  since  the  arrival  of  the  latter  in  Virginia, 
a  fortnight  before,  the  elder  lady  being  in  constant  at 
tendance  upon  Mrs.  TazewelL 

"  This  is  very  stupid  I  And  I  am  getting  hungry  I* 
Baia  Mrs.  Aylett,  aside  to  her  lord,  as  she  stood  near  a 
front  window,  tapping  the  floor  with  her  feet,  while 
vehicle  after  vehicle  received  its  load  and  rolled  off. 
*  We  shall  be  the  last  on  the  ground.  Herbert  I  can't 


FIFTEEN  rsAS&  321 


you  intimate  to  Mabel  that  we  are  impatient  o>  be 
gone  !  " 

u  I  don't  know  where  she  is  1  n  growled  the  brother, 
for  onco  non-complaisant  to  her  behest,  and  not  stirring 
from  the  chair  in  the  corner  into  which  he  had  dropped 
at  his  entrance. 

Hifl  head  hung  npon  his  breast,  and  he  appeared  to 
study  the  lining  of  his  hat-crown,  balancing  the  brim 
by  his  forefingers  between  his  knees.  Mrs.  Aylett  had 
lowered  her  veil  in  the  burying-ground  or  on  her  way 
thither,  but  it  was  a  flimsy  mass  of  black  lace  —  richly 
wrought,  yet  insufficient  to  hide  the  paleness  of  the 
upper  part  of  her  visage.  Mr.  Aylett  watched  and 
wondered,  with  but  one  definite  idea  in  his  brain  be 
yond  the  resolve  to  ferret  out  the  entire  mystery  in  hia 
stealthy,  taciturn  fashion.  Herbert  Dorrance  had  been, 
in  some  manner,  compromised  by  his  association  with 
this  Chilton,  had  reason  to  dread  exposure  from  hint, 
%nd  his  sister  was  the  confidante  of  his  guilty  secret. 

"  I  shall  know  all  about  it  in  due  season,"  thought 
the  master  of  himself  and  his  dependents. 

Not  that  he  meant  to  extort  or  wheedle  it  from  hii 
consort's  keeping,  but  he  had  implicit  faith  in  his  own 
detective  talents. 

u  Here  she  is  at  last  t  "  he  said,  when  Mabel  came 
down  the  staircase,  holding  Aunt  Rachel's  hand,  and 
talking  low  and  earnestly,  her  noble  face  and  eves 
14* 


222  AFTER  FIFTEEN  TSAS& 

gliding  step  a  refreshing  contrast  to  Airs.  Ayle,  t's  nas* 
vousness  and  Herbert's  dogged  sullenness. 

"  1  am  sorry  I  have  kept  you  BO  long,  bnt  there  will 
be  less  dust  than  if  we  had  gone  sooner.  The  other 
carriages  will  have  had  time  to  get  ont  of  our  way,1* 
she  said,  pleasantly.  "Winston,"  coming  np  to  her 
brother,  and  speaking  in  an  undertone,  "will  it  be 
quite  convenient  for  you  to  send  for  Aunt  Rachel  on 
aext  Friday  ? " 

"  Entirely  1  The  carriage  shall  be  at  your  service  at 
any  hour  or  day  you  wish,"  with  more  cordiality  than 
was  common  with  him. 

However  treacherous  others  might  be  in  their  re 
serve  and  half -confessions,  here  was  one  who  had  never 
deceived  him  or  knowingly  misled  him  to  believe  hei 
better,  or  otherwise,  than  she  was.  Honesty  and  truth 
were  stamped  upon  her  face  by  a  life-long  practice  of 
these  homely  virtues  —  not  by  meretricious  arts.  It 
was  tardy  justice,  but  he  rendered  it  without  grudging, 
if  not  heartily. 

A  few  words  passed  as  to  the  hour  at  which  the  car- 
riage  was  to  call  for  Mrs.  Sutton,  and  Mabel  kissed  her 
"Good-by,"  the  others  shaking  hands  with  her,  and 
with  three  or  four  of  the  Tazewell  kinsmen  who  offici 
ated  as  masters  of  ceremonies,  and  Mrs.  Aylett  made 
an  impatient  movement  toward  the  front  steps. 
Directly  in  her  roufe,  leaning  against  a  pillar  of  the 
old-fashioned  porch,  was  Frederic  Chilton,  no  longer 


FIFTEEN  TEAB&  323 


dreamy  and  perplexed,  but  on  the  alert  rith  eye  and 
ear  —  not  losing  one  sound  of  her  voice,  or  trick  ol 
feature.  She  inclined  her  head  slightly  and  courte 
ously,  the  notice  due  a  friend  of  the  house  she,  as 
g'ass'i,  was  about  to  leave.  He  did  not  bow,  nor  relax 
the  rigor  of  his  watch.  Only,  when  she  was  seated  in 
the  carriage,  he  bent  respectfully  and  mutely  before 
Mabel,  who  followed  her  hostess,  and  paying  as  littl* 
attention  to  the  two  gentlemen  as  they  did  to  him 
walked  up  to  Mrs.  Button,  and  said  something  inauci 
ble  to  the  bystanders.  As  they  drove  out  of  the  yard, 
the  Eidgeley  quartette  saw  the  pair  saunter,  side  by 
side,  to  the  extreme  end  of  the  portico,  apparently  to 
be  out  of  hearing  of  the  rest,  but  no  one  remarked 
aloud  upon  the  renewed  intimacy  and  then  confiden 
tial  attitude. 

"  If  it  is  anything  very  startling,  the  old  gossip  will 
aever  keep  it  to  herself,"  Mr.  Aylett  congratulated 
himself,  while  his  wife's  complexion  paled  gradually 
to  bloodlessness,  and  Herbert  sat  back  in  nis  corner, 
sulky  and  dumb.  "And  the  ia  coming  to  o*  on 
Friday!" 


XVHJL 

IN  TBJS  AOL 


only  malady  that  put  Herbert  Dorranee  in 
frequent  and  unpleasant  remembrance  of  hii 
mortality  was  a  fierce  headache,  which  had  of 
late  years  gupervened  npon  any  imprudence  in 
diet,  and  upon  excessive  agitation  of  mind  or  physical 
exertion.  Hin  invariable  custom,  when  he  awoke  at 
morning  with  one  of  these,  was  to  trace  it  to  its  sup 
posed  source,  and  after  determining  that  it  was  noth 
ing  more  than  might  have  been  expected  from  the  eir 
cumstance,  to  commit  himself  to  his  wife's  nursing  for 
the  day. 

She  ought,  therefore,  to  have  been  surprised  when, 
while  admitting  that  the  pain  in  his  head  was  intense, 
he  yet,  on  the  morrow  succeeding  Mrs.  TazewelTf 
funeral,  persisted  in  rising  and  dressing  for  breakfast 
"  it  must  have  been  the  roast  duck  at  dinner  yester 
day,"  he  calmly  and  languidly  explained  the  attack. 
u  It  w*§  fat,  and  the  stuffing  reeked  with  butter,  sage, 
ar>4  onion.  An  ostrich  could  not  hare  digested  it  I 


IS  TBX  A13L 


WAS  tirti,  too,  and  should  not  have  emten  heartily  «f 
even  the  plainest  f  ood." 

Mabel  neither  opposed  nor  sustained  the  theory 
She  had  slept  so  ill  herself  as  to  know  how  restless 
he  had  been  ;  had  heard  his  hardly  suppressed  sighs 
and  tossings  to  and  fro,  infallible  indications  with  him 
of  serious  perturbation.  Had  his  discomfort  been 
bodily  only,  he  would  have  felt  no  compunction  in 
calling  her  to  his  aid,  as  he  had  done  scores  of  time*. 
Her  sleepless  hours  had  also  been  fraught  with  melan 
choly  disquiet  Putting  away  from  her  —  with  firm 
ness  begotten  by  virtue  born  of  will  —  and  so  much 
of  this  thoughtfulness  as  pertained  to  the  bygone 
days  with  which  Frederic  Chilton  was  insepara 
ble  associated,  she  yet  deliberated  seriously  upon  the 
expediency  of  speaking  out  courageously  to  Herbert  of 
the  relation  this  man  had  once  borne  to  her,  the  inci 
dents  of  their  recent  meeting,  and  the  effect  she  saw 
was  produced  upon  her  husband's  mind  by  the  sight  of 
him. 

"  If  we  would  have  this  negative  happiness  continue, 
this  matter  ought  to  be  settled  at  once  and  f  orever," 
she  said,  inwardly.  "  He  must  not  suspect  me  of  weak 
and  wicked  clinging  to  the  phantoms  of  my  youth; 
most  believe  that  I  do  not  hasbor  a  regret  or  wish  in 
compatible  with  my  duty  as  his  wife.  I  will  avail 
myself  of  the  first  favorable  moment  to  assume  aim  of 
the  folly  of  his  fears  and  of  his  discomfort" 


326  THUJTLJKS  119  JZUf  AJUL 

Another  consideration — the  natural  sequence  of  her 
conviction  of  his  unhappiness  —  was  a  touching  appeal 
to  her  woman's  heart.  If  he  had  not  loved  her  more 
fervently  than  his  phlegmatic  temperament  and  unde 
monstrative  bearing  would  induce  one  to  suppose,  h« 
would  not  dread  the  rekindling  of  her  olden  fancy  for 
another.  The  image  of  him  who,  she  had  confessed, 
had  taught  her  the  depth  and  weight  of  her  own  affec 
tions,  whom  she  had  loved  as  she  had  never  professed  to 
care  for  him,  would  not  have  haunted  his  pillow  to 
ehase  sleep,  and  torture  him  with  forebodings. 

"  I  must  make  him  comprehend  that  Mabel  Aylett 
at  twenty,  wilful,  romantic,  and  undisciplined,  was  a 
different  being  from  the  woman  who  has  called  him 
4  husband,'  without  a  blush,  for  fourteen  years! " 

It  was  these  recollections  that  softened  her  kindly 
tones  to  tenderness ;  made  the  pressure  of  her  hand 
upon  his  temples  a  caress,  rather  than  a  manual  appli 
ance  for  deadening  pain ;  while  she  combated  his  in 
tention  of  appearing  at  the  breakfast-table. 

"  Lie  down  upon  the  sofa ! "  she  entreated.  "  Let  me 
bring  up  a  cup  of  strong  coffee  lor  you ;  then  Oarfcen 
the  room,  and  chafe  your  head  un*il  you  fall  asleep, 
ihice  you  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  all  proposals  of  mustard 
foot-baths  and  Dr.  Van  Orden's  panacea  pills." 

"  No ! "  stubbornly.  "  Aylett  and  Clara  would  think 
it  strange.  They  do  not  understand  how  a  slight  irreg- 
olarity  of  diet  or  habit  can  produce  such  a  result 


THUXDZR  Of  FES  AIR.  337 

They  would  attribute  it  to  other  causes.  1  may  feel 
better  when  I  have  taken  something  nourishing." 

The  dreaded  critics  received  the  tidings  of  his  i^idis 
position  without  cavil  at  its  imputed  origin ;  treated 
the  whole  subject  with  comparative  indifference,  which 
would  have  mortified  him  a  week  ago,  but  seemed  now 
to  assuage  his  unrest  The  breakfast  hour  was  a  quiet 
one.  Herbert  could  not  attempt  the  form  of  eating> 
despite  his  expressed  hope  of  the  curative  effects  of 
nourishment,  and  sipped  his  black  coffee  at  tedious  in 
tervals  of  pain,  looking  more  ill  after  each.  Mabel 
was  silent,  and  regardful  of  his  suffering,  while  Mrs, 
Aylett  toyed  with  the  tea-cup,  broke  her  biscuit  into 
small  heaps  of  crumbs  upon  her  plate,  and  under  her 
visor  of  ennui  and  indolent  musing,  kept  her  eye  upon 
her  vis-a-vis,  whose  face  was  opaque  ice ;  and  his  intona 
tions,  when  he  deigned  to  speak,  meant  nothing  save 
•hat  he  was  controller  of  his  own  meditations,  and 
rould  not  be  meddled  with. 

"  You  are  not  well  enough  to  ride  over  to  the  Court 
house  with  me,  Dorrance  1 "  he  said,  interrogatively, 
his  meal  despatched.  "  It  is  court-day,  you  know !  * 

(=  What  do  you  say,  Mabel?"  was  Herbert's  clumsy 
reference  to  his  nurse.  "  Don't  you  think  I  might  ven 
ture!" 

"  I  would  not,  if  I  were  in  your  place,"  she  replied, 
•autiously  dissuasive.  "The  day  is  raw,  and  then 


ST  THS  A&L 

will  be  rain  before  evening.    Dampness  always  aggra 
vates  neuralgia." 

"It  is  neuralgia,  then,  is  it!"  queried  Winston, 
shortly,  drawing  on  his  boots. 

Ilis  sister  looked  np  surprised. 

"  What  else  should  it  bef  " 

"  Nothing  —  unless  the  symptoms  indicate  softening 
of  the  brain ! "  he  rejoined,  with  his  slight,  dissonant 
laugh.  "  In  either  case,  your  decision  is  wise.  He  is 
better  off  in  your  custody  than  he  would  be  abroad.  I 
hope  I  shall  find  yon  convalescent  when  I  return 
Good  morning  1 " 

His  wife  accompanied  him  to  the  outer  door. 

"It  is  chilly!"  she  shivered,  as  this  was  opened 
"  Are  you  warmly  clad,  love  ? "  feeling  his  overcoat. 
"  And  don't  forget  your  umbrella." 

Her  hand  had  not  left  his  shoulder,  and,  in  offering 
a  parting  kiss,  she  leaned  her  head  there  also. 

"  I  wish  you  would  not  go ! "  she  said  impulsivelT 
and  sincerely. 

"WTiy?" 

'*  I  cannot  say  —  except  that  I  dread  to  be  left  aiont 
all  day.  You  may  laugh  at  me,  but  I  feel  as  if  some 
thing  terrible  were  hanging  over  me  —  or  you.  The 
spiritual  oppression  is  like  the  physical  presentiment 
sensitive  temperaments  suffer  when  a  thunder-storm  if 
brooding,  but  not  ready  to  break  Yet  I  can  refer  my 
fears  to  no  known  cause.11 


IN  TBS  A/S 


•'That  i«  folly."  Mr.  Aylett  bit  off  the  and  of  a 
jigar,  and  i&l"  in  his  vest  pocket  for  a  match-safe. 
"  Yon  shonld  be  able  always  to  assign  a  reason  ior  the 
fear  as  well  as  the  hope  that  is  in  yon.  Yon  have  no 
idea,  you  say,  from  what  recent  event  yonr  prognosti 
cation  takes  its  vhne  ?  " 

She  laughed,  and  straightened  her  fine  neck. 

"  From  the  same  imprudence  that  has  consigned  poor 
Herbert  to  the  house  for  the  day,  I  suspect  —  a  late 
and  heavy  dinner,  I  had  the  nightmare  twice  before 
norning.  Von  will  be  home  to  supper  f  " 

"Yes." 

Hesitating  upon  the  monosyllable,  he  took  hold  of 
her  elbows,  so  as  to  bring  her  directly  before  him,  and 
searched  her  countenance  until  it  was  dyed  with 
blushes. 

"  Why  do  yon  color  so  furiously  ?  n  he  asked  in  rail 
lery  that  had  a  sad  or  sardonic  accent  "  I  was  about 
to  ask  if  you  would  be  inconsolable  if  I  never  came 
back.  Perhaps  your  presentiment  points  to  some  such 
fatality.  These  little  accidents  have  happened  in  bet 
ter-regulated  families  than  ours." 

"  Winston!" 

She  gasped  and  blanched  in  pain  or  terror. 

"What  is  tne  matter!  Havel  hurt  you!"  relea* 
ing  his  grasp. 

"  Yes  —  here!"  laying  his  hand  upon  her  heart  thi 
beautiful  eyes  terrified  and  pathetic  *s  those  of  » 


^30  TRUXCDBR  IN  THS  AUL 

wounded  deer.  "  For  the  love  of  Heaven,  never  et&b 
Die  again  with  such  suggestions.  When  you  die,  1 
shall  not  care  to  live.  When  you  cease  to  love  me,  1 
shall  wish  we  had  died  together  on  our  marriage- day  — 
aay  husband ! " 

He  let  her  twine  her  arms  about  his  neck,  laid  hi« 
cheek  to  her  brow,  clasped  her  tightly  and  kissed  her 
impetuously,  madly,  again  and  yet  again  —  disengaged 
himself,  and  ran  down  the  steps.  She  was  standing  on 
the  top  one,  still  flushed  and  breathless  from  the  vio 
lence  of  his  embrace,  when  he  looked  back  from  the 
(*ate,  her  commanding  figure  framed  by  the  embower 
ing  creepers,  as  Mabel's  girlish  shape  had  been  when 
Frederic  Chilton  waved  his  farewell  to  her  from  the 
^ame  spot. 

Did  either  of  them  think  of  it,  or  would  either  have 
reckoned  it  an  ominous  coincidence,  if  the  remem 
brance  of  that  long-ago  parting  had  presented  itself 
then  and  there  ? 

Herbert  spent  the  day  upon  the  lounge  hi  the  family 
sitting-room  —  a  cosy  retreat,  between  the  parlor  and 
the  conservatory,  which  had  been  added  to  the  lower 
floor  in  the  reign  of  the  present  queen.  Her  brother's 
seizure  was  no  trifling  ailment.  Alternations  of  stupor 
and  racking  spasms  of  pain  defied,  for  several  hours, 
his  wife's  application  of  the  remedies  she  hai  found 
efficacious  in  foimer  attack*.  Her  ultimate  resort  was 
chloroform,  and  by  the  liberal  use  ot  this,  relaxation 


THUNDER  IN  THE  >«^  851 


j<f  t  lie  tenfie  nerves  and  a  sleep  that  resen.  Died  healing 
repose  were  induced  by  the  middle  of  tbe  afternoon, 
Tlie  weather  continued  to  threaten  rain,  although  nor* 
had  fallen  as  yet,  and  the  wind  moaned  lugubriously 
in  the  leafless  branches  of  the  great  walnut  before  the 
end  window  of  the  narrow  apartment  It  was  a  grand 
tree,  the  patriarch  of  the  grove  that  sheltered  the  house 
from  the  north  winds.  Mabel,  relieved  from  watch 
fulness,  and  to  some  extent  from  anxiety,  by  her  hus 
band's  profound  slumber,  lay  back  in  her  chair  with  a 
tong-drawn  sigh,  and  looked  out  at  the  naked  limbs  of 
the  wrestling  giant  —  the  majestic  sway  and  reel  she 
Deed  to  note  with  fthilfHah  awe  —  and  thought  of  many 
things  which  had  befallen  her  since  then,  until  the 
steady  rocking  of  the  boughs  and  hum  of  the  Novem 
ber  breeze  soothed  her  into  languor  —  then  drowsiness 
—  then  oblivion. 

She  awoke  in  alarm  at  the  sense  of  something  hurt- 
fid  or  startling  hovering  near  her. 

The  fire  had  been  trimmed  before  she  slept,  and 
now  flamed  up  gayly  ;  the  window  was  dusky,  as  were 
the  distant  corners  of  the  room,  and  Herbert  was  gai- 
ing  steadfastly  at  her. 

"I  fell  asleep  without  knowing  it  I  am  sorry! 
Have  you  wanted  anything?  How  long  have  you 
been  awake  I  " 

"  Only  a  few  minutes,  my  dearest  t  "  with  no  change 
in  the  meameric  intentness  of  his  gaze.  "I  want 


332  TUV3DB&  IN  THS  AZ& 

nothing  more  than  to  have  yon  always  near  me.  5Toa 
nave  been  a  good,  faithful  wife,  Mabel,  better  and 
nobler — a  thousandfold  nobler  than  I  deserved.  I 
have  thought  it  all  over  while  you  were  sleeping  BO 
tranquilly  in  my  sight.  I  wish  my  conscience  were 
void  of  evil  to  all  mankind  as  is  yours.  I  awoke  with 
an  odd  and  awful  impression  upon  my  mind.  The 
firelight  flamed  in  a  bright  stream  between  your  chair 
and  me — and  1  must  have  dreamed  it  —  or  the  chlo 
rofonn  had  affected  my  head  —  I  thought  it  was  9 
river  of  light  dividing  us !  You  were  a  calm,  whil* 
angel  who  had  entered  into  rest  —  uncaring  for  and 
forgetful  of  me.  I  was  lost,  homeless,  wandering  for 
ever  and  ever ! " 

Had  her  prosaic  spouse  addressed  her  in  a  rhythmic 
improvisation,  Mabel  could  not  have  been  more  as 
tounded. 

"  You  are  dreaming  yet ! "  she  said,  kneeling  by  him 
and  binding  his  temples  with  her  cool,  firm  palms 
*  When  we  are  divided,  it  will  be  by  a  ctark — not  a 
bright  river." 

"Until  death  do  us  part!"  Herbert  repeated, 
thoughtfully.  "I  wish  I  could  hear  you  say,  orce, 
that  you  do  not  regret  that  clause  of  your  marriage 
vow.  I  was  not  your  heart's  choice,  you  knrrw,  Mabel, 
however  decided  may  have  been  the  approval  of  your 
friends  and  of  your  judgment.  The  thought  oppresses 
me  a*  it  did  not  in  the  first  years  of  our  wedded  life.* 


TMUNDSH  Uf  THE  AI&  835 

"-  am  glad  you  have  spoken  of  th«,;>  began  the 
rife.  "  I  would  disabuse  your  mind — n 

"  Al1  in  the  dark!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Aylett,  at  th« 
door.  "  And  what  a  stifling  odor  of  chloroform  1 " 

Mabel  got  up,  and  drew  a  heavy  travelling-shaw* 
tfeat  covered  Herbert's  lower  limbs  over  his  arms  and 
chest. 

"  I  will  open  the  window ! "  she  said,  depreciatingly. 

A  sluice  of  cold  air  rushed  in,  beating  the  blaze  this 
<ray  and  that,  puffing  ashes  from  the  hearth  into  the 
*oom,  and  eliciting  from  Mrs.  Aylett  what  would  have 
been  a  peevish  interjection  in  another  woman. 

"  My  dear  sister !  the  remedy  is  worse  than  the  of 
fence.  Chloroform  is  preferable  to  creosote,  or  what 
ever  abominable  element  is  the  principal  ingredient  of 
smoke  and  cold  1  The  thermometer  must  be  down  to 
the  freezing-point ! " 

Mabel  lowered  the  Bash. 

"You  have  been  sitting  in  a  room  without  fire,  I 
suspect  The  temperature  here  is  delightful  I  am 
sorry  we  have  exiled  yon  from  such  comfortable 
quarters." 

"Don't  speak  of  it!  I  cannot  endure  to  sit  here 
alone  —or  anywhere  else.  I  have  slept  most  of  the 
afternoon.  How  the  wind  blows!  I  wish  Winston 
were  at  home." 

"It  is  a  dark  afternoon.  He  seldom  return*  from 
*>urt  so  early  a*  thia.  It  ia  not  aix  yet" 


434  THumsR  nr  TBS  AOL 

Mabel  still  essayed  pacification  of  the  other**  raffled 
mood. 

"You  are  better,  I  see,"  Mrs.  Aylett  said  abrupUy 
to  her  brother.  "  You  were  not  subject  to  these  spells 
formerly.  People  generally  outlive  constitution*. 
headaches — so  I  have  noticed.  It  is  queer  youn 
should  occur  so  often  and  wax  more  violent  each  time. 
You  should  have  medical  advice  before  they  ripen  into 
a  more  serious  disorder." 

Herbert  shaded  his  eyes  from  the  fire,  and  lay  with 
out  replying,  until  his  wife  believed  he  had  relapsed 
into  a  doze. 

She  was  convinced  of  her  mistake  by  his  saying, 
slowly  and  distinctly,  — 

"  You  do  not  enter  into  Clara's  whole  meaning,  Ma 
bel.  We  have  been  careful,  all  of  us,  never  to  tell  yon 
that  our  father  was  imbecile  by  the  time  he  was  fifty 
and  died,  in  his  sixtieth  year,  of  the  disease  you 
brother  named  this  morning  —  softening  of  the  brain 
L  of  all  his  children,  am  most  like  him  physically.  If 
it  be  true  that  this  danger  menaces  me,  you  should  be 
informed  of  it,  and  know,  furthermore,  that  it  is  incur* 
able." 

Mabel  also  paused  before  answering. 

"  I  cannot  assent  to  the  hypothesis  of  your  inherited 
malady,  Herbert.  These  headaches  may  mean  nothing. 
But  let  that  be  as  it  may,  you  shoalo  have  told  me  ol 
this  before." 


THUNDER  Of  THB  AIR.  88& 

a  You  see,"  broke  in  Mrs.  Ayletf  s  triumphant  sar 
casm.  "  The  reward  of  your  maiden  attempt  at  «  njn- 
gal  confidence  is  reproof.  What  haye  I  warned  yoi 
from  the  beginning  ? " 

"Not  reproof,"  corrected  Mabel,  in  mild  decision. 
"  My  knowledge  of  the  secret  he  deemed  it  wise  and 
kind  to  withhold  would  have  gained  for  him  my  sym 
pathy,  and  my  more  constant  and  intelligent  care  01 
his  health.  It  is  the  hidden  fear  that  grows  and  mul 
tiplies  itself  most  rapidly.  Before  it  is  killed  it  must 
be  dragged  to  the  light." 

"That  is  your  hypothesis,"  was  the  bright  retort 
'  W  3  Dorrances  have  justly  earned  a  reputation  for  dis 
cretion  by  the  excellent  preservation  of  our  own  se 
crets,  and  those  committed  to  our  keeping  by  our 
friends.  My  motto  is,  tell  others  nothing  about  your 
self  which  they  cannot  learn  without  your  confession. 
An  autobiography  is  always  either  a  bore  or  a  blundei 
Not  that  I  would  regulate  the  number  and  nature  of 
your  divulgations  to  your  wife,  Herbert.  As  to  Win 
ston's  unlucky  hit  this  morning,  it  was  mere  fortuity. 
I  have  never  felt  myself  called  upon  to  enlighten  him 
in  family  secrets,  and  his  is  an  incurious  disposition. 
He  never  asks  idle  questions.  He  has  a  marvellous 
faculty  of  striking  home-blows  in  the  dark,  but  that  IB 
no  reason  why  one  should  betray  his  wound  by  crying 
out  Apropos  to  darkness,  may  I  ring  for  a  lamp,  01 
will  the  light  hurt  your  eyes?" 


336  THUND8H  Of  TEH  AJOL 

"The  Hre-l%it  ifl  more  trying,"  rejtined  Maoel, 
pushing  a  screen  before  the  sofa,  and  placing  herseli 
where  she  could,  in  its  shadow,  bold  her  husband's 
hand. 

It  was  cold  and  limp  when  she  lifted  it,  but  tight 
ened  upon  hers  with  the  instinctive  grip  of  gratitude 
too  profound  to  be  uttered. 

She  had  never  been  so  near  loving  him  as  at  the 
instant  in  which  he  believed  he  had  incurred  her  ever- 
tasting  displeasure.  Generosity  and  pity  were  fast 
tmdoing  the  petrifying  influences  of  her  early  disap 
pointment,  their  mutual  reserve,  and  tacit  misunder 
standings.  If  half  he  feared  were  true,  his  need  of 
ner  affection,  her  counsel  and  companionship  were  dire. 
Whatever  wrong  he  had  done  her  by  keeping  back  the 
«>dle  of  hereditary  infirmity,  he  had  suffered  more  from 
the  act  than  she  could  ever  do.  Who  knew  how  much 
of  what  she,  with  others,  mistook  for  constitutional 
phlegm  and  studied  austerity,  was  the  outward  sign  of 
the  battle  between  dread  of  his  inherited  doom  and 
the  resolve  of  an  iron  will  to  defy  natural  laws  and  the 
sentence  of  destiny  herself,  and  hold  reason  upon  her 
rickety  throne! 

Heaven's  gentlest  and  kindest  angels  were  busy  with 
Mabel  Dorrance's  heart  in  that  reverie,  and,  as  they 
wrought,  the  cloud  that  had  rested  there  for  fifteen 
years  broke  into  rainbow  smiles  that  illumined  her 
countenance  into  the  similitude  of  the 


THUNDBM  Of  TBS  AOL  £87 

"  I  bless  Thee,  Father,  the  All-wise  and  Ever-merci 
fnl,  that  she  is  safe ! "  was  her  voiceless  thanksgiving. 

No  more  bitter  tears  over  the  lonely,  sunken  grave  1 
no  more  nearkening,  with  aching,  never-to-be-satisfied 
ears  for  the  patter  of  the  "  little  feet  that  never  trod." 
The  great  sorrow  of  her  life  that  had  been  good  in  His 
sight  was  at  length  a  blessing  in  hers.  Her  "  hereaf 
ter  n  of  knowledge  of  His  doings  had  come  to  her  in 
this  world. 

"Does  it  rain,  Petert"  questioned  Mra.  Aylett  of 
oie  lad  who  brought  in  lights. 

"Yes,  ma'am.  It's  beginnin'  to  storm  powerful  1* 
he  said,  respectfully  communicative. 

"  Your  master  has  not  come  I n 

"No,  ma'am," 

"  See  that  the  lantern  over  the  great  gate  is  lighted, 
and  that  some  one  is  ready  to  take  his  horse.  And, 
Peter,"  as  he  was  going  out, "tell  Thomas  not  to  bring 
in  supper  until  Mr.  Aylett  returns." 

She  moved  to  the  window,  bowed  her  hands  on 
either  side  of  her  eyes  to  exclude  the  radiance  within, 
and  strained  them  into  the  black,  black  night 

"  He  will  have  a  dark  and  a  disagreeable  ride,"  aha 
wdd,  coining  back  to  the  fire. 

Her  uneasiness  was  so  palpable  as  to  excite  Mabel'i 
compassion. 

"  Every  step  of  the  road  is  familiar  to  him,  and  he  ii 
tocustorned  to  night  rides,"  fthe  said,  encouragingly. 


33&  THUNDSU  IN  TBS  AOL 

"Yea,'  afewntly.  a  But  he  will  be  very  wet  Han 
the  rain  1 " 

It  plashed  against  the  north  window,  and  tinkled 
upon  the  tin  roof  of  the  conservatory,  and  Mabel, 
though  aware  of  her  brother's  habitual  disregard  of 
wind  and  weather,  could  not  but  eympathize  with  the 
wifely  concern  evinced  by  the  sober  physiognomy  and 
unsettled  demeanor  of  one  generally  so  calm.  She  ob 
served,  now,  that  her  sister-in-law  was  arrayed  moie 
richly  than  usual,  and  her  attire  was  always  handsome 
and  tasteful  A  deep  purple  silk,  trimmed  upon  skirt 
and  waist  with  velvet  bands  of  darker  purple,  showed 
off  her  clear  skin  to  fine  advantage,  and  was  saved 
from  monotony  of  effect  by  a  headdress  of  lace  and 
buff  ribbons.  A  stately  and  a  comely  matron,  she  was 
bedight  for  her  lord's  return ;  weighed  as  heavy  each 
minute  that  detained  him  from  her  arms. 

She  was  still  standing  by  the  low  mantel,  her  urn 
resting  lightly  upon  it,  the  fire-blaze  bringing  out  lus 
trous  reflections  hi  hex  drapery  and  hair,  and  tinging 
her  pensive  cheek  with  youthful  carmine,  when  hes 
husband  en  ieredL 


ntf APTICR  irnt. 

NEMESIS. 

:T  was  a  peculiarity  of  Winston  Aylett  that  hi 
waus  never  discomposed  in  seeming,  however 
embarrassing  or  distressing  might  be  his  posi 
tion.  In  his  childhood  he  was  one  to  whom,  to 
use  the  common  phrase,  dirt  would  not  stick.  His 
face  was  clean  and  fair,  his  hands  smooth,  and  his 
hair  in  order  after  rough  and  tumble  experiences  that 
sent  his  companions  home  begrimed,  ragged,  and  un 
kempt  frights.  To-night,  he  had  ridden  a  dozen  miles 
in  the  teeth  of  the  storm,  and  made  no  pause  before 
appearing  before  his  wife  and  sister,  except  to  lay  off 
his  hat  and  overcoat  in  the  hall  But  had  he  expected 
to  encounter  a  roomful  of  ladies,  his  costume  could  not 
have  been  more  unexceptionable. 

His  linen  was  pure  and  fresh,  even  to  the  narrow 
tine  of  wristband  edging  his  coat  sleeve ;  his  clearly 
eat  patrician  features  were  tranquil  in  every  line  and 
tint ;  his  step  was  the  light,  yet  deliberate  stride  of  an 
athlete  without  passion  or  bravado.  Conscious  power, 

(OB) 


£40 


inexorable  will,  and  thorough  self-command  wen 
stamped  upon  him  from  crown  to  foot,  and  his  saluta 
tion  to  the  small  family  party  accompanied  a  smile  as 
mirthless  and  cold  as  were  his  eyes. 

Mrs.  Aylett  advanced  a  step,  not  more,  and  returned 
the  bow  that  comprehended  all  present,  with  a  pleased, 
not  rapturous  welcome. 

"  We  were  beginning  to  fear  lest  you  might  be  wet," 
she  said,  emulating  his  polite  equanimity.  Genuine 
tact  is  always  chameleon-like  in  quality.  "  It  rains 
quite  fast,  does  it  not  t " 

"The  storm  is  increasing,  but  I  experienced  no 
inconvenience  from  it,  thank  you." 

He  sat  down  in  his  favorite  arm-chair,  and  spread 
his  fingers  before  the  fire. 

"  I  am  happy  to  see  you  so  very  much  better  n — to 
Herbert.  "  There  were  many  kind  inquiries  for  you 
at  the  court-house  to-day.  Dr.  Ritchie  wanted  to 
know  if  you  had  ever  taken  nux  vomica  for  thes* 
neuralgic  turns.  I  invited  him  to  come  in  with  me 
and  prescribe  for  you,  but  he  said  he  must  push  on 
home,  so  we  parted  at  the  outer  gate." 

So  affable  as  almost  to  put  others  at  their  ease  in  hii 
company,  he  chatted  until  supper  was  announced ;  re 
gretted  civilly  Herbert's  inability  to  go  to  the  table, 
and  gave  his  sister  his  arm  into  the  dining-room,  Mrs, 
Aylett  following  in  their  wake.  If  he  did  not  eat 
heartily,  he  pnuseo,  in  gentlemanly  moderation,  tlw 


viands  selected  by  hit  consort  for  his  delectation  after 
his  wet  ride,  and  pleaded  a  late  dinner  as  the  reason 
of  his  present  abstinence.  Then  they  adjourned  to 
the  apartment  where  they  had  left  Mr.  Dorrance,  and 
the  host  produced  his  cigar-case. 

"Mabel  says  that  smoke  never  offends  your  olfac 
tories,  or  affects  your  head  unpleasantly,  when  you  are 
suffering  from  this  nervous  affection,"  he  said  to  Her 
bert 

"  On  the  contrary,  it  often  acts  as  a  sedative,"  was 
the  reply. 

Winston  lighted  a  cigar  with  an  allumette  from  a 
bronze  taper-stand  —  a  Christmas  gift  from  his  wife, 
which  she  kept  supplied  with  fanciful  spiles  twisted 
and  fringed  into  a  variety  of  shapes;  drew  several 
long  breaths  to  be  certain  that  the  fire  had  taken  hold 
of  the  heart  of  the  Havana,  tossed  the  pretty  paper 
into  the  embers,  and  resumed  his  seat  in  the  chimney 
corner. 

"  A  sedative  is  a  good  thing  for  people  who  allow 
their  nerves  to  get  out  of  gear,"  he  remarked,  dryly 
wid  leisurely,  puffing  contentedly  in  the  middle  and  at 
the  end  of  the  sentence.  "  But  he  who  does  this  sub 
verts  the  order  of  the  ruler  a&d  the  ruled.  I  supposed 
I  had  nerves  once,  but  it  is  an  age  since  they  have 
dared  molest  me.  I  know  that  I  had  my  impulse! 
when  I  was  younger." 

He  stopped  to  fillip  the  ash  forming  upon  the  i# 


842 


ni ted  end  of  his  cigar,  performing  the  operation  with 
nicety,  using  the  extreme  tip  of  his  middle-finger  nail 
over  the  salver  attached  for  the  purpose  to  the  bronze 
Bmokinflr-set. 

o 

"  I  obeyed  one,  above  a  dozen  years  ago.  I  learned 
only  to-day  that  it  was  rash  and  unwise,  and  to  how 
much  evil  it  may  lead." 

"  Not  a  very  active  evil,  if  you  have  just  discovered 
it  to  be  such." 

The  speaker  was  his  sister.  Herbert  was  motionless 
upon  his  couch.  Mrs.  Aylett,  in  the  lounging-chair  at 
the  opposite  side  of  the  hearth  from  her  husband,  was 
cutting  the  leaves  of  a  new  magazine  he  had  brought 
from  the  post-office,  and  did  not  seem  to  hear  his  re 
mark. 

"  Tou  reason  upon  the  assumption  %at  ignorance  is 
oliss,"  said  Mr.  Aylett.  "Allow  nm  to  express  the 
opinion  that  the  adage  embodying  tibat  idea  is  the 
refuge  of  cowards  and  fools.  No  mater  how  grievous 
a  bankrupt  a  man  may  be  financially  or  in  spirit,  he  is 
craven  or  a  blockhead  to  shrink  the  Investigation  of 
his  accounts.  Which  allusion  to  bankruptcy  brings 
me  to  the  recital  of  a  choicely  offensive  bit  of  scandal 
I  heard  to-day.  It  is  seldom  that  I  give  heed  to  the 
like,  but  the  delicious  rottenness  revealed  by  this  tale 
enforced  my  hearing,  and  fixed  the  details  in  my  mind. 
I  could  not  but  think,  as  I  rode  home  of  the  acees- 
torieB  which  would  add  effectiveness,  to-night,  to  my 


848 


second-hand  narrative.  I  had  the  whole  scene,  which 
is  now  before  me,  in  my  mind's  eye  —  the  warm  fire 
light  and  the  shaded  lamp  brightening  all  within, 
while  the  rain  pattered  without  ;  the  interesting  inva 
lid  over  there  gradually  stirring  into  interest  as  the 
atory  progressed  ;  you,  Mabel,  calmly  and  critically  at* 
tentive  ;  and  my  Lady  Aylett,  too  proud  to  look  the 
desire  she  really  feels  to  handle  the  lovely  carrion." 

"  Your  figures  are  not  provocative  of  insatiable  ap 
petite,"  returned  his  wife,  with  inimitable  sang-froid^ 
staying  her  paper  knife  that  she  might  examine  an 
engraving. 

"  Your  appetite  needs  further  excitants,  then  I  So 
did  mine  until  I  began  to  suspect  that  the  history 
might  be  authentic,  and  not  a  figment  of  the  racon 
teur's  imagination.  The  hero's  name  at  first  disposed 
me  to  set  down  the  entire  relation  as  a  fiction.  It  IB 
romantic  enough  to  perfume  a  three-volume  novel  — 
Julius  Lennox  !  " 

Mabel's  instinctive  thought  was  for  her  husband, 
but  in  turning  to  him  she  could  not  but  notice  that 
Mjrs.  Aylett  sat  motionless,  the  paper-cutter  between 
two  leaves,  and  her  left  hand  pressed  hard  upon  the 
upper,  but  without  attempting  to  sever  them. 

Herbert  twisted  his  head  upon  the  pillow  until  he 
faced  the  back  of  the  sofa,  and  a  convulsion  went 
through  him,  hardly  quellod  by  the  clasp  of  Mabel'i 
band  upon  his, 


344  NEMESIS. 

a 3 dins  Lennox!"  reiterated  Mr.  Aylett,  betweei 
the  fragrant  puffs,  "  A  lieutenant  in  the  navy — tht 
good-looking,  bnt,  as  the  sequel  proved,  not  over-steady, 
spouse  of  a  lady  who  was  the  daughter  of  another  nara/ 
officer  of  similar  rank.  The  latter  was  compelled  t* 
leave  the  service  on  account  of  incipient  idiocy,  and 
retired,  upon  half -pay,  to  an  unfashionable  quarter  oi 
a  certain  great  city,  where  his  wife,  a  smart  Yankee, 
opened  a  boarding-house  for  law  and  medical  students, 
and  contrived  not  only  to  keep  the  souls  and  bodies  of 
her  family  together,  but  to  marry  off  her  two  still  sin 
gle  daughters — the  one  to  a  barrister,  the  other  to  a 
physician.  The  lovely  Louise  Lennox — a  pretty  allit 
eration,  is  it  not?  —  remained  meanwhile  under  the 
paternal  roof,  her  husband's  ship  being  absent  most  of 
the  time,  and  the  handsome  Julius  having  unlimited 
privileges  in  the  line  condemned  by  "Black-eyed 
Susan  "  in  her  parting  interview  with  her  sailor  lover 
—  finding  a  mistress  in  every  port.  It  is  woman's 
nature  and  wisdom  to  seek  consolation  for  such 
afflictions  as  the  deprivation  of  the  beloved  one'f 
iociety,  and  the  almost  certainty  that  he  is  basking 
nifl  faithless  self  in  the  sunlight  of  another's  eyes 
Our  heroine,  being  at  once  ardent  and  philosoph 
ical,  put  the  lex  talionis  into  force  by  falling  in  love 
with  one  of  her  mother's  lodgers,  a  spng  of  the  legaj 
profession.  The  favored  youth  —  so  says  my  edition 
of  the  romance  —  remained  preternatnrally  uncon 


346 


<? ".ions  of  the  sentiment  he  had  inspired,  attributing  hoi 
manifestations  of  partiality  to  platonic  regard,  until 
she  opened  his  modest  eyes  by  proposing  an  elopement. 
He  had  completed  his  professional  studies,  taken  out  a 
Lcense  to  practise  law,  was  about  to  quit  her  and  the 
city,  and  the  no-longer-adored  Julius  was  comrag  home 
—  a  wreck  hi  health  and  purse  —  upon  a  six  months' 
leave  of  absence.  It  must  be  owned  the  Lady  Louise 
had  some  excuse  for  a  measure  that  seemed  to  have 
amazed  and  horrified  her  cidsbeo.  Recoiling  from  the 
proposition  and  herself  with  the  virtuous  indignation 
that  is  ever  aroused  in  the  manly  bosom  by  similar 
advances,  he  packed  up  his  trunk,  double-locked  it  and 
his  heart,  paid  his  bill,  and  decamped  from  the  dan 
gerous  precincte. 

"Ignoble  conclusion  to  a  tender  affair;  but  not  sc 
devoid  of  tragicality  as  would  seem.  Infuriated  at  the 
desertion  of  this  modern  Joseph,  Louise,  the  lorn, 
avenged  the  slight  offered  her  charms  by  declaring  to 
her  youngest  brother,  the  only  one  who  resided  in  the 
same  city  with  herself,  that  Joseph  had  made  dishonora 
ble  proposals  to  her  —  a  proceeding  which  demonstrates 
that  the  feminine  character  has  withstood  the  prover- 
oially  changing  effects  of  time  from  age  to  age.  My 
narrative  is  but  a  later  and  a  Gentile  version  of  the 
Jewish  novelette  to  which  I  have  referred.  The  r6U 
of  Potiphar  was  cast  for  the  unsophisticated  brother, 
«ho,  being  unable  to  immure  the  unimpressible  Joeepfe 


maaaia. 


in  the  Tombs,  attempted  the  only  meaiiB  of  redress  thai 
remained  to  him,  to  wit  :  Personal  chastisement 

"And  here,"  continued  the  narrator,  yet  more 
slowly,  "  I  find  myself  perplexed  by  the  discrepancy 
between  the  statement  I  have  had  to-day  and  one  ci 
this  section  of  the  story  furnished  ine  several  year* 
since.  In  the  latter  the  indignant  fraternal  relative 
flogged  the  would-be  betrayer  within  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  of  his  life.  The  other  account  reverses  the  posi 
tion  of  the  parties,  and  makes  Joseph  the  incorruptible 
also  the  invincible.  However  this  may  have  been,  the 
adventure  seems  to  have  quenched  the  loving  Louise's 
brilliancy  for  a  season.  We  hear  no  more  of  her  until 
after  her  father's  decease,  when  she  re-enters  the  lists 
of  Cupid  in  another  State,  as  the  blushing  and  still 
beautiful  virgin-betrothed  of  a  man  of  birth  and 
means,  who  woos  and  weds  her  under  her  maiden 
cognomen  —  the  entire  family,  including  the  valiant 
brother  who  figured  as  whippee  or  whipper,  in  the 
castigation  exploit  —  being  accomplices  in  the  righte 
ous  fraud.  I  might,  did  I  not  fear  being  prolix,  tell 
of  sundry  side-issues  growing  out  of  the  main  stalk  of 
this  plot,  such  as  the  ingenious  manoauvres  by  which  the 
promising  couple  of  conspirators  averted,  upon  the  eve 
of  the  sister's  bridal,  the  threatened  exposJ  of  their 
machinations  to  entrap  the  wealthy  lover.  Suffice  it  fa 
say  that  the  duped  husband  (by  brevet)  lived  for  a  de- 
tade  anil  a  half  in  the  placid  enjoyment  of  the  igno 


ranee  which  my  sagacious  sister  here  is  disposed  to 
confound  with  rational  bliss — nor  is  he  quite  sure,  to 
this  day,  whether  spouse  No.  1  of  the  partner  of  hit 
bosom  still  lives,  or  by  clearance  in  what  court  of  in 
famy  or  justice  she  managed  to  shuffle  off  her  real 
name,  and  win  a  right  to  resume  the  title  of  spinster." 

He  lighted  a  fresh  cigar,  and  for  the  space  of  per 
haps  a  minute,  a  dead  and  ominous  silence  prevailed. 
Mabel,  pallid  and  faint  at  heart,  could  not  take  her 
eyes  from  his  countenance,  with  its  cruel  smile,  frozen, 
shallow  eyes,  and  the  deep  white  dints  coming  and 
going  in  his  nostrils. 

He  had  judged  without  partiality.  He  would  COB 
demn  without  mercy.  He  would  punish  without 
remorse. 

Herbert  still  faced  the  back  of  the  lounge,  but  he 
had  slipped  his  hand  from  the  relaxing  hold  of  hers, 
and  pressed  it  over  his  eyes.  She  could  not  seek  to 
possess  herself  of  it  again.  Winston  was  not  the  only 
dupe  of  the  nefarious  fraud,  the  betrayal  of  which  had 
overtaken  the  guilty  pair  thus  late  in  their  career  of 
duplicity.  Yet,  however  severely  she  had  suffered  m 
heart  from  their  falsehood  and  her  brother's  intolerance, 
no  stain  would  rest  upon  her  name,  while,  terminate  at 
the  affair  might,  the  disgraceful  revelation  would  ship 
wreck  her  brother's  happiness  for  life,  if  not  bring  up 
on  the  old  homestead  a  storm  of  scandal  that  would 
leave  no  more  trace  of  the  honorable  reputation  hereto- 


348 


fore  borne  by  it*  owners  than  remained  of  the  smiling 
plenty  of  the  cities  of  the  plain  after  the  fiery  wrath  of 
the  Lord  had  overthrown  them. 

Mrs.  Aylett  resumed  the  suspended  operation  of 
cutting  the  leaves  of  her  new  monthly ;  fluttered  there 
to  be  certain  that  none  were  overlooked ;  laid  down  the 
periodical ;  brushed  the  scattered  bits  of  paper  from  her 
Bilken  skirt,  and  retaining  the  paper-knife  —  a  costly 
toy  of  mother-of-pearl  and  silver — changed  her  posi 
tion  so  as  to  look  her  husband  directly  in  the  eye. 

44 1  believe  I  can  give  you  the  information  you  lack,' 
she  said,  in  curiously  constrained  accents,  the  concen 
tration  of  some  feeling  to  which  she  could  or  would  no» 
grant  other  vent.  "Clara  Louise  Lennox  obtained  a 
divorce  from  her  first  husband  on  the  grounds  of 
drunkenness,  failu  j  to  maintain  her,  infidelity,  and 
personal  ill-usage.  He  came  home  from  sea,  as  you 
have  said,  the  battered  ruin  of  a  mam,,  fallen  beyond 
hope  of  redemption.  There  was  no  law,  written  or 
moral,  which  obliged  her,  when  once  freed  from  it,  to 
carry  about  with  her  and  thrust  upon  the  notice  of 
others  the  loathsome  body  of  death  typified  by  his  name 
and  her  matronly  title.  She  commenced  life  anew  at 
her  father's  death,  contrary,  let  me  say  to  the  advice  of 
all  her  friends,  if  I  except  the  mother,  who  could  refuse 
nothing  to  her  favorite  (laughter.  The  scheme  wai 
boldly  conceived.  Yon  have  admitted  that  it  was  suc- 
cenfully  carried  out.  In  New  York  the  family  wen 


341 


act  known  beyond  the  circle  with  which  they  disdained 
to  associate  when  the  lodging-house  business  was  aban 
doned.  There  were  a  thousand  chances  to  one  that  in 
her  new  abode  Miss  Dorranee  would  be  identified  by 
some  busybody  with  the  divorced  Mrs.  Lennox.  She 
risked  her  fortunes  upon  the  one  chance,  and  won.  I 
do  not  expect  you  to  believe  that  the  impostor  was 
moved  by  any  other  consideration  in  contracting  her 
second  marriage  than  the  wish  to  seek  the  more  exalted 
sphere  of  society  and  influence  which  Fate  had  hither 
to  denied  her.  You  would  sneer  were  I  to  hint,  how 
ever  remotely,  at  a  regard  for  her  high-born  suitor  the 
,  but  dissipated  officer  had  never  awakened 


Air.  Aylctt  lifted  hifl  hand,  smiling  more  evilly 
oefore. 

"  Excuse  the  interruption  !  but  after  your  statement 
of  the  fact  that  such  sentimental  asseverations  would  be 
futile,  you  waste  time  in  recapitulating  the  loves  of 
the  lady  aforementioned,  and  we  in  hearing  them.  I 
think  I  express  the  opinion  of  the  audience  —  fit,  but 
few  —  when  I  say  that  we  require  no  other  evidence 
^han  that  afforded  by  the  story  I  have  told  of  Mrs.  Len 
nox's  susceptibility  and  capacity  for  affection.  We  are 
willing  to  take  for  granted  that  the  latter  was  illimita 
ble." 

"  A*  yon  like!"  idly  tapping  tha  naili  of  her  left 


350  JHUUEBJS 

hand  with  the  knife.  "  IB  there  anything  else  pertain* 
Ing  to  this  history  into  which  you  would  like  to  inquire  I  * 

It  was  a  sight  to  curdle  the  blood  about  one's  heart, 
this  due!  between  husband  and  wife,  with  double-edged 
blades,  wreathed  with  flowers.  Mr.  Aylett's  attitude 
>f  lazy  indifference  was  not  exceeded  by  Clara's  proud 
languor.  He  laughed  a  little  at  the  last  question. 

"  1  have  speculated  somewhat  —  having  nothing  else 
m  particular  to  engage  my  mind  on  my  way  home  — 
upon  the  point  I  named  just  now,  and  upon  one  other 
akin  to  it.  All  that  the  novel  needs  to  round  it  off 
neatly  is  an  encounter  between  the  real  and  the  quasi 
consorts.  I  cannot  specify  them  by  name,  in  conse 
quence  of  the  uncertainty  I  have  mentioned.  One  was 
a  lond-Jide  husband  —  the  other  a  bogus  article,  let 
New  York  divorce  laws  decide  what  they  will,  provided 
always  that  the  fallen  Julius  had  not  bidden  farewell 
to  this  lower  earth  before  his  loyal  Louise  plighted  her 
faith  to  her  Southern  gallant  Death  is  the  Alexander 
of  the  universe.  There  ifl  no  retying  the  knots  he  ha§ 
cut" 

From  the  pertinacity  with  which  he  returned  to  the 
q  lection  one  could  discern  his  actual  anxiety  to  have 
it  settled.  Mabel  understood  that  the  only  salve  of 
possible  application  to  his  outraged  pride  and  love  was 
the  discovery  that  Clara  had  been  really  a  widow  when 
to*  wedded  her.  The  divorce  and  subsequent  decepfc'om 


man&u.  S5l 

were  sins  of  heinous  dye  against  his  ideas  of  respecta 
bility  and  unspotted  honor,  but  he  would  never  f  orgiva 
the  woman  who  had  had  two  living  husbands,  freed 
from  the  former  though  she  was  by  a  legal  fiction. 

No  one  saw  this  more  clearly  than  did  she  whoa* 
fate  trembled  upon  the  next  words  she  should  utter. 
With  all  her  hardihood,  she  hesitated  to  reply.  Lux 
ury,  wealth,  and  station  were  on  one  side ;  degradation 
and  poverty  on  the  other.  The  solitary  hope  of  rein 
statement  in  the  affection,  if  not  the  esteem,  of  him  she 
loved  truly  as  it  was  in  her  to  love  anything  beside  her 
self,  was  arrayed  against  the  certainty  of  alienation 
and  the  tearful  odds  of  ignominious  banishment. 

Her  answer,  under  the  presure  of  the  warring  emo 
tions,  was  a  semitone  lower,  and  less  distinctly  enunci 
ated  than  those  that  had  gone  before  it 

"  The  ddnodement  you  propose  for  your  romance  is 
impracticable.  Julius  Lennox  died  before  the  date  of 
the  second  marriage." 

Herbert  drew  himself  to  a  sitting  posture  by  clutch- 
bg  the  back  of  the  lounge.  His  red  eyes  and  tumbled 
hair  made  him  look  more  like  a  mad  than  a  sick  man, 

u  In  the  name  of  Heaven,"  he  demanded  hoarsely, 
"  have  we  not  had  enough  lies,  every  one  of  which  has 
been  a  blunder,  and  a  fatal  one  ?  I  told  you,  years  ago, 
that  the  scene  of  this  evening  was  a  mere  question  of 
time*,  that,  withcut  a  miracle,  an  edifice  fornded  upon 


iniquity  and  cemented  by  falsehood  must  eroah  yon 
before  yon  could  lay  the  top-stone.  Yon  would  not  be 
warned — yon  held  on  your  way  without  hesitation  or 
compunction,  and  now  yon  would  add  to  sin  fatuity. 
Do  you  suppose  that  after  what  your  husband  hai 
learned  of  your  nntruthfulness  he  will  accept  your 
assertion  on  any  subject  without  inquiry  ?  And,  how 
many  in  your  own  family  and  out  of  it  —  although 
these  may  not  know  you  by  the  name  you  now  bear  — 
are  cognizant  of  the  fact  that  Julius  Lennox  was  alive 
for  almost  fifteen  months  after  you  became  Mrs. 
Aylett?" 

Mabel's  arm  was  about  his  neck,  her  hand  upon  hii 
mouth. 

"  No  more  I  no  more  I  if  yon  love  me ! "  she  whispered 
in  an  agony.  "  Should  he  guess  all,  he  would  murder 
her!" 

"  You  are  prepared  to  certify  that  he  is  dead  now, 
ars  you,  Mr.  Dorrancet "  queried  Winston,  suspicion! 
cf  this  by-play. 

« I  am!"  sulkily. 

"  It  Li  a  pity ! "  was  the  ambiguous  rejoinder. 

Something  clicked  upon  the  hearth.  It  was  the 
fragments  of  the  toy  stiletto,  broken  by  an  unoon  troll 
able  twitch  of  the  small  fingers  that  held  it 

Then  Mrs.  Aylett  arose,  pale  at  a  ghott,  but  unqnail 
ing  in  eye  or  mien. 


NEMB8I& 


SB* 


"  May  I  know  your  lordahip's  pleainre  respecting 
your  cast-off  minion  f  " 

"In  the  morning,  yes!"  glancing  np  diadainfnlly 
*  Me&utimo,  let  mo  wiah  you  *  good-night'  iw^  happj 


CHAPTER  XX. 

DTDIAJ*   BUKMKE. 

O,  no!  my  dear!"  said  Mrs.  Button,  earoertlj 
"  I  am  shocked  and  astonished  that  you  should 
ever  Kave  labored  under  such  a  delusion.  Fred 
eric  told  me  the  story,  and  a  dreadful  one  it  was, 
the  day  old  Mrs.  Tazewell  was  buried.  Wasn't  it  won 
derful  that  he  never  knew  whom  Winston  had  married 
until  he  saw  her  leaning  upon  his  arm  m  the  grave 
yard?  .Be  recognized  Mr.  Dorrance  in  the  house,  but 
supposed  him  to  be  a  visitor  at  Ridgeley  and  a  relative 
of  Mrs.  Aylett,  having  heard  that  hei  maiden  name  waa 
Dorrance.  As  to  his  being  your  husband,  it  did  not  at 
first  occur  to  him,  so  bewildered  was  he  by  your  meet 
ing  and  the  thoughts  awakened  by  it.  But  at  sight  of 
her  the  truth  rushed  over  him,  nearly  depriving  bi™ 
of  his  wits,  fle  soon  got  out  of  me  all  that  I  knew, 
and  by  putting  this  and  that  together,  we  made  out  the 
mystery.  I  was  so  grieved  and  indignant  and  horrified 
that  I  was  for  sending  him  forthwith  to  Winston,  that 
he  might  clear  himself  of  the  shocking  changes  thej 

(854) 


OTDJAN  BUMMSOL  851 

had  preferred  against  him,  by  exposing  the  motives  of 
his  accusers.  But  he  was  stubborn  and  independent 
4  It  can  do  no  good  now,'  he  said.  '  Fifteen  years  ago 
this  discovery  would  have  been  my  temporal  salvation. 
And  Dorrance  is  Mabel's  husband.  I  cannot  touch 
him  without  wounding  her.'  I  could  not  reconcile  thii 
mode  of  reasoning  with  my  conscience.  If  wron£  had 
been  done,  it  ought  to  be  righted.  I  did  not  sleep  a 
wink  all  night.  I  wept  over  my  noble,  generous,  slan 
dered  boy,  and  over  you,  my  darling!  but  my  chief 
thought  was  anger  at  the  shameless  depravity,  the  cold 
blooded  cruelty  of  the  brazen-faced  adventuress  who 
sat  in  your  angel  mother's  place.  For  aught  Frederic 
or  I  knew,  her  real  husband  was  still  alive.  He  had 
never  heard  of  the  divorce,  you  see,  and  the  circum 
stance  of  her  marrying  Winston  under  her  maiden 
name  looked  black 

"  Well  1  I  pondered  upon  the  horrible  affair  until  I 
could  hold  my  peace  no  longer.  Frederic  and  Flor 
ence  went  home  >vith  Mary  Trent  next  morning,  and 
knowing  that  Winston  must  pass  the  upper  gate  on 
his  way  to  court,  [  put  en  my  bonnet  soon  after  break 
fast,  and  strolled  in  that  direction.  By  and  by  he 
rode  up,  stopped  his  horse,  and  began  to  talk  so  soci 
ably  that  before  I  quite  knew  what  1  was  doing,  I  waa 
in  the  middle  of  my  story.  I  wonder  now  how  I  did 
it,  but  I  was  excited,  and  he  listened  so  patiently, 
questioned  a*  quietly,  that  I  did  not  realize,  for  sever*] 


856  OFDIAB  8UMMX& 

hours  afterward,  what  a  b!aze  I  must  have  kindled  IB 
his  heart  and  home,  whether  he  believed  me  or  not. 
The  next  thing  I  heard  was  not,  as  I  expected,  that  he 
and  his  wife  had  quarrelled,  or  that  he  was  going  to 
challenge  Frederic  for  having  belied  him,  but  that 
poor  Dorrance  was  very  ill  with  some  affection  of  the 
brain.  It  was  not  until  a  year  later  —  just  after  his 
death  —  that  people  began  to  talk  about  the  strange 
carryings-on  at  Kidgeley;  how  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aylett 
occupied  separate  apartments,  and  never  sat,  or  walked, 
or  rode  together,  or  spoke  to  one  another,  even  at  table, 
unless  there  were  visitors  present.  Nobody  could  im 
agine  what  caused  the  estrangement,  and  for  the  sake 
of  the  family  honor  I  guarded  my  tongue.  She  must 
be  a  wretcked  woman,  if  all  of  this  be  true.  She  ia 
breaking  fast  under  it,  in  spite  of  her  pride  and  skill 
in  concealment  I  ought  not  to  pity  her  when  I  re 
member  how  wicked  she  has  been ;  but  there  is  a  look 
hi  her  eye  when  she  is  not  laughing  or  talking  that 
gives  me  the  heart-ache." 

"She  is  very  unhappy!"  replied  Mabel,  sighing. 
u  And  so,  I  doubt  not,  is  Winston,  although  he  wiD 
not  own  it,  and  affects  to  ignore  the  fact  of  her  failing 
health  and  spirits.  It  is  one  of  those  miserably  deli 
cate  family  complications  with  which  the  nearest  of 
kin  cannot  meddle.  They  are  very  kind  to  me,  and  I 
think  my  visits  have  been  a  comfort  to  Clara.  The 
tolitode  of  the  great  house  is  a  terrible  trial  to  one  to 


INDIAN  SUMMER.  357 

fond  of  company.  For  days  together  sometime*  she 
does  not  exchange  a  word  with  anybody  except  th« 
•ervants.  It  is  a  dreary,  wretched  evening  of  an  am 
bitious  life.  I  ventured  to  tell  Winston,  last  week, 
that  this  would  probably  be  my  last  visit  to  Ridgeley, 
since  I  was  to  be  married  next  month. 

" To  Mr.  Chilton,  I  suppose ?"  he  said. 

I  answered,  "Yes!" 

"You  must  be  almost  forty,"  he  next  remarked. 
"  You  have  worn  passably  well,  but  yon  are  no  longer 
young." 

"I  am  thirty-seven! " said  L 

"Well!"  he  answered.  "You  are  certainly  old 
enough  to  know  your  own  business  best." 

"  That  was  all  that  passed.  But  I  was  glad  to  remem 
ber,  as  I  looked  at  his  whitening  hair  and  bowed  shoul 
der,  that  Frederic  had  not — as  I  was  foolish  enough 
to  suppose  for  awhile — told  him  the  story  that  had 
blighted  his  life.  Not  that  I  could  have  blamed  him 
had  he  done  this.  He  had  endured  so  much  obloquy, 
suffered  so  keenly  and  so  long,  that  almost  any  retalia 
tory  measure  would  have  been  pardonable." 

Herbert  Dorrance's  widow  was,  as  had  been  said,  OB 
*  farewell  visit  to  her  native  State,  and  after  spending 
a  week  at  Hidgeley  was  concluding  a  pleasanter  so 
journ  of  the  same  length  at  William.  Button's.  In  an 
other  month  her  home  in  Philadelphia  was  to  be  the 
refuge  of  her  aunt's  declining  years  —  a  prospect  that 


858  INDIAN  SUMMS& 

delighted  her  as  much  as  it  afflicted  those  among 
whom  this  most  benevolent  and  lovable  of  match 
makers  had  dwelt  during  Mabel's  first  marriage. 

The  marriage  it  was  now  her  constant  purpose  to 
forget — not  a  difficult  task  in  the  happiness  that  dif 
fused  an  Indian  summer  glow  over  her  maturity  of 
years  and  heart  After  Herbert's  death  she  had  con 
tinued  to  reside  in  Albany,  devoting  herself  —  so  SOOD 
as  she  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of  mind  and  body 
consequent  upon  her  severe  and  protracted  duties  as 
nurse — to  the  scarcely  less  painful  work  of  attending 
his  mother,  who  had  contracted  the  seeds  of  consump 
tion  in  the  bleak  sea-air  of  Boston,  Grateful  for  an 
abode  in  the  house  of  one  who  performed  a  daughter's 
part  to  her  when  her  own  children  were  content  to 
commit  her  to  the  care  of  hirelings,  the  old  lady  lin 
gered  six  months,  and  died,  blessing  her  benefactress 
and  engaging,  in  singleness  of  belief  in  the  affection  hifc 
wife  had  borne  him,  "  to  tell  Herbert  how  good  she 
had  been  to  his  mother." 

None  of  the  Dorrances  could  wag  a  tongue  against 
their  sister-in-law,  when,  at  the  expiration  of  her  ye«i 
of  widowhood,  she  wrote  to  them,  to  announce  net 
"  re-engagement"  to  Frederic  Chilton.  She  had  been 
a  faithful  wife  to  their  brother  in  sickness  and  imbe 
cility  ;  a  ministering  angel  to  their  parent,  and  there 
was  now  no  tie  to  bind  her  to  their  interest  They 


WDIAN  smaixa.  *59 

had  a  way  of  taking  care  of  themselves,  ard  it  JTM  not 
surprising  if  she  had  learned  it 

They  behaved  charmingly  —  this  pair  of  elderly 
lovers  —  said  the  young  Buttons  when  Mr.  Chilton 
arrived  to  escort  his  affianced  back  to  Albany  on  the 
day  succeeding  the  conversation  from  which  I  have 
taken  the  foregoing  extracts,  while  Aunt  Kachel's  deat 
old  face  was  one  beam  of  gratification. 

"  All  my  matches  turn  out  well  in  the  long  run !  " 
she  boasted,  with  modest  exultation.  "  I  don't  under 
take  the  management  of  them,  unless  I  am  very  sure 
that  they  are  already  projected  in  Heaven.  And 
when  they  are,  my  loves,  a  legion  of  evil  spirits  or, 
what  is  just  as  bad,  of  wicked  men  and  women,  can 
not  hinder  everything  from  coming  right  at  last" 

While  she  was  relating,  in  the  same  sanguinely  pioui 
spirit,  the  tales  that  most  entrance  young  girls,  and  at 
which  their  seniors  smile  in  cynicism,  or  in  tender  rec 
ollection,  as  their  own  lives  have  contradicted  or  veri 
fied  her  theory  of  love's  teachings  and  love's  omnipo 
tence,  Frederic  and  Mabel,  forgetting  time  and  care> 
separation  and  sorrow,  in  the  calm  delight  of  reunion, 
were  strolling  upon  the  piazza  in  the  starlight  of  a 
fwrf ect  June  evening. 

They  stopped  talking  by  tacit  consent,  by  and  by,  to 
listen  to  Amy  Button,  a  girl  of  eighteen,  the  vocalist 
of  the  flock,  who  was  testing  her  voice  and  proficiency 
m  reading  music  at  sight  by  trying  one  after  another 


of  A  volume  of  old  songs  which  belonged  te  ksi 
mother. 

This  was  the  Terse  that  enchained  the  prontonadenf 
Attention  : 


But  rtfl!  thj  mum,  thy 

Mj  lonely  bwwm  fill*; 
Uk»  MI  echo  that  hath  lort  ftMif 

Among  the  distant  hflV 
That  «tffl,  with  nwiancboly  nete, 

Keepg  faintly  lingering  on, 
When  the  jojrotw  aoond  that  vote  tt  tm 
e  !  " 


u  It  is  seventeen  years  since  we  heard  it  together, 
dearest  !  "  said  Frederic,  bending  to  kiss  the  tear-laden 
eyes.  "  And  I  can  say  to  yon  now,  what  I  did  not, 
while  poor  Kosa  lived,  own  to  myself  —  that,  try  to 
bush  it  though  I  did,  in  all  that  time  the  lost  echo 
*fas  never  stilL" 

Her  answer  was  prompt,  and  the  sweeter  for  the 
blent  sigh  and  smile  which  were  her  tribute  to  the 
Past,  and  greeting  to  the  Future  : 

uAn  echo  no  longer,  but  a  continuous  airaiB  of 
*f  haart-  music  I  " 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


REC'D  LD 


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REC'D  LD  DEC  2  0*69-- 


— 


OCT    81984     •?, 


DEC  is 


M83  , 


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CIRCULATION  DEPTjJJL  06  1963 


LD  21A-50m-4,'59 
(A1724slO)476B 


.General  L  ibrary 


GENERAL  LIBRARY -U.C.  BERKELEY 


6000207130 


